On 3 May 2023 the Mexican government published a decree adding, amending, and repealing various provisions of the Federal Law for the Control of Chemical Precursors, Essential Chemical Products and Machines to Manufacture Capsules, Tablets and/or Pills (in short, the Law on Chemical Precursors and Essential Chemical Products). The changes went into effect the day after the publication in the Official Gazette of the federation (i.e. on 4 May 2023) but the amendment to the regulation will be published within 180 days.

Some of the changes are:

• A synthetic drug is now defined as ‘Any substance of synthetic origin with psychoactive effects available in the illicit drug market and used for non-medical purposes.’

• Chemical precursors are defined as ‘Fundamental substances for the production of synthetic drugs, which incorporate their molecular structure into the final product.’

• Essential Chemicals are defined as ‘Substances that, without being chemical precursors, can be used to produce synthetic drugs, such as solvents, reagents, and catalysts.’

• The time for submitting Annual Reports has been changed to 60 calendar days.

• Affected companies and individuals must now register each activity the involves precursor chemicals or essential chemicals in the Comprehensive System of Substances within 24 hours.

• Penalties will now be as follows: A person who diverts or makes use of chemical precursors or essential chemicals for the production of synthetic drugs, will be sentenced to ten to fifteen years in prison and a fine equivalent to ten percent of the income obtained by such activities. A person who is in possession of chemical precursors, essential chemical products or machines to make capsules, tablets or tablets in the national territory, who does not have the corresponding authorizations or permits, will be sentenced to seven to ten years. imprisonment and a fine of one thousand to five thousand times the daily value of the Measurement and Update Unit.
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The full text of the decree can be found here:

https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5687756&fecha=03/05/2023#gsc.tab=0

On 2 March 2023, a draft standard was disclosed that involves two standards on marking and labelling requirements from 2008. The draft standard aligns Mexico’s rule with the UN model regulation. It describes the contents and sizes of labels when they are used on packages, containers, tank wagons, and freight containers.

Until 1 May, Mexico’s Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transport (SICT), is consulting on the draft standard on marking and labelling.

The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) of Mexico is the national federal entity that regulates commercial road traffic and broadcasting. It sets and conducts policies and programs to develop transport and communications in line with the country's needs. It also regulates, inspects, and oversees mail and telegraph services.

As per the 2008 edition of the standard, shipping of different dangerous goods items in multi-compartment tanks require labels to be displayed on both sides of each compartment. The updated version of the standard from 2023 explains that the labels need to be displayed only once along the sides of the transport unit if all compartments require the same labels.

Also, the provisions in the 2008 edition describe that if a transport unit contains multiple items having different hazard classes for shipping, the labels should identify the two most dangerous items. This requisite has been eliminated from the updated version as there is no information available on the identification of the two dangerous items from the multiple products. Furthermore, a lithium battery mark is introduced in the updated standard for packages containing defined amounts of lithium-ion cells or batteries.

For a substance in quantities of more than 4,000 kg, the standard will associate with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code to include UN number labels for multimodal containers transported by sea.

23 standards on dangerous goods transport are being revised by the SICT. The standards which are already published involve standards on transport documents, packaging construction and testing, as well as correct use of packaging.