In Mexico, the Senate is slated to vote on legislation to legalize marijuana in the coming days. The bill’s passage would mark a major shift away from the U.S.-backed drug war in Mexico, which has killed tens of thousands of people since it began in 2006. This is Senator Ricardo Monreal, a member of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s MORENA party.

Sen. Ricardo Monreal: “Eliminating prohibition in the country is good. I think the possibility of regulating consumption, the cultivation, commercialization is a good thing. Also, heading toward industrial use is also good. I think that Mexico is prepared to take on such a position on such a trajectory. There are voices like that of the president, who has said there should be a national consultation, which is under consideration, which is pending and which is under discussion.”