Since early February, and despite the spread of COVID-19, cannabis activists have been camped out in tents in front of the Mexican Senate, hoping to persuade Mexican lawmakers to pass legislation that favors self-cultivation.

They are there because they believe the proposal on the table being considered by the Mexican Senate is too conservative and favors industry over small producers.

"We want everyone to have access to the flower through unlimited self-cultivation of plants for personal use," said Jesus Reyes, an administrative lawyer who advises the Mexican Cannabis Movement and also works pro bono to help marijuana users avoid jail time for possession.

The Mexican Senate's Justice and Health Committee issued an updated draft of the new law for cannabis regulation Jan. 15 that contemplates allowing possession of up to 28 grams for recreational use and up to six plants per household if cultivating for personal use.

Farming communities known as ejidos would supposedly receive preference for licenses to cultivate, with 40% of initial licenses set aside for them. Members of ejidos work the land individually in parcels and make decisions as a community; many are subsistence farmers with indigenous ancestry.

The Senate bill sets a 49% equity cap on foreign investment for license-holders.

The bill also states that cannabis would not require prior authorization or license for medical, pharmaceutical or palliative use. Last year, the nation's Supreme Court ordered the Health Ministry to draft regulations for medicinal cannabis use by mid-February.

Reyes and others who have congregated in shifts for weeks in a plaza in the capital, playing music and passing joints, worry the legislation will favor big corporations. Cannabis fans continue to gather there despite growing concerns about the new coronavirus.

The Mexican government remains open for business, too, having only given public sector workers leave starting March 23 if they are pregnant, over the age of 60 or have chronic diseases such as Type II Diabetes that put them at greater risk of severe symptoms from COVID-19.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum ordered gyms, theaters and museums to close starting Monday. Shopping malls, restaurants and public gatherings of up to 50 people will still be allowed. The country had 316 confirmed cases of the virus as of Monday, many of them in the capital.

The political will to regulate cannabis appeared to be lacking even before COVID-19 reached Mexico. Mexico's high court has ruled five times that prohibition of recreational marijuana consumption is unconstitutional.

Mexico is one of the biggest producers of illicit cannabis in the world, though much of it is for the export market. In surveys, the majority of Mexicans express disdain for recreational cannabis use.

Regardless of progress in the legislative branch, the executive branch must get involved to issue formal regulations.

Juan Francisco Torres Landa, Hogan Lovells' office managing partner in Mexico, says President Andres Manuel López Obrador could easily move the cannabis agenda forward—if it were a priority for him.

"Despite coming from a left-wing government, he's more conservative than any conservative person on these issues," says Torres Landa, who has argued in favor of decriminalizing cannabis for more than a decade.

"I think it's contrary to his own beliefs on how to deal with drug issues."

Torres Landa said he is convinced that drug prohibition has fueled violence and empowered criminal organizations to challenge the state. He argues that taking the power and money away from the cartels by decriminalizing drugs would help solve this problem.