Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has proposed liberalizing his country’s drug laws, privately asked California lawmakers visiting Mexico about a state measure to legalize recreational marijuana, a state legislator said on Thursday.

A delegation of California Democratic lawmakers visiting Mexico talked for an hour on Wednesday with Pena Nieto about trade and the state’s border with Mexico.

During the meeting, Pena Nieto brought up the November ballot measure without getting into details, California state Senator Ben Allen said in an interview.

“But they’re clearly paying close attention,” he added.

If California votes to create a legal cannabis market, it would place great pressure on Mexico, which is mired in combating its vast drug-trafficking networks, to follow suit. [Read more at Reuters]