Mexico's Congress approves landmark cannabis bill

An activist in favor of legalized marijuana holds a marijuana plant during a march as they wait for Congress for passage of a bill that would legalize it, in Mexico City, Mexico March 9, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's lower house of Congress on Wednesday approved a bill that would decriminalize cannabis for recreational, medical and scientific uses, bringing it a step closer to creating one of the world's largest markets for the plant.

Backed by the administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the bill marks a major shift in a country bedeviled for years by violence between feuding drug cartels.