The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, addressed an accusation this Wednesday that labeled her as a user of marijuana, firmly denying the claims during her first simultaneous live broadcast on Instagram and TikTok, a 25-minute session in which she answered questions from users.
According to the report by the agency EFE, the accusation came from Anabel Hernández, a journalist and Mexican author known for her investigations into drug trafficking and corruption, and the author of works such as "Los señores del narco."
In mid-September, Hernández stated on the program Astillero Informa that anonymous sources close to the leader had confirmed that Sheinbaum smoked marijuana to cope with the pressures of her position and a "kind of depression," and that doctors had prescribed her anxiolytics and antidepressants. The journalist did not provide any clinical documentation nor did she identify her sources.
Sheinbaum responded firmly: "There was a journalist (Hernández) who said that I use drugs; it's false, absolutely false. How do you think I would be doing such things? The issue is that there are many fake news on social media, be very careful, one must be very cautious about what social media says, there are a lot of fake news."
The accusation comes in a politically charged environment for Sheinbaum. The Trump administration has maintained a hemispheric policy of maximum pressure against drug trafficking and has labeled Mexico a "narco-state," although it has also acknowledged advances such as the capture of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aka "El Mencho," last June.
Sheinbaum has rejected that label on multiple occasions and advocates for a policy of bilateral cooperation without foreign military intervention.
The episode is also part of a long history of accusations or admissions of substance use by political leaders. Barack Obama admitted in his memoirs that he used marijuana, alcohol, and cocaine in his youth. George W. Bush was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in 1976 and never confirmed nor denied allegations of cocaine use. Bill Clinton is remembered for saying that he tried marijuana but "did not inhale."
The regional context adds another dimension to the issue. Uruguay is the most advanced country in cannabis regulation in Latin America: it approved its legalization in 2013 and enabled sales in pharmacies in 2017, with more than 75,000 registered users and nearly 4,290 kilograms sold legally in 2025.
Mexico, on the other hand, maintains partial decriminalization of consumption but lacks a fully operational legal adult market, which makes any association of the president with cannabis carry complex political connotations.
During the same broadcast, the audience questioned Sheinbaum about insecurity, the crisis at the Mexican Social Security Institute, the water shortage in Jalisco, and the repression of protesters.
The president also discussed the regulation of violent content on digital platforms and clarified that her government does not seek to censor: "It's about preventing violent behaviors that are linked to generating violence against girls and adolescents. And note that the digital platforms were in agreement."
The legal advisor to the Presidency, Luisa María Alcalde, and the head of the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications, José Antonio Peña Merino, have already held meetings with representatives from the major platforms to agree on the terms of that content regulation.
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