Uruguay Still Debating To Legalize Marijuana

Marijuana regulation bill still pending approval by Congress. Soon Uruguay could be the first country in the world to directly produce, sell, and control the consumption of marijuana.

The proposal for state-regulated marijuana is part of a package of sixteen different measures designed to fight violence and public insecurity in Uruguay. Possession and consumption of marijuana for personal use is not currently penalized in Uruguay, but it is the commercialization.

If the bill is successful, the nation of just over 3 million people could serve as a model for other countries in the region seeking alternatives to a costly, decades-long drug war. But first, Mujica must convince Uruguayans and political opposition party  that the measure makes sense as people are divide in the issue of legalization.

The interior minister, Eduardo Bunomi believes that first the law should be approved by Congress and then it should go to plebiscite where people could decide to whether approve it or not.

Under the bill, the Uruguayan government would sell and distribute marijuana through state-authorized networks, such as private businesses or clubs associated with cannabis use. Registered adults 18 and older would be allowed a maximum of 40 marijuana cigarettes per month. Consumers exceeding that amount would undergo rehabilitation treatment, financed by taxes on sales of marijuana. Sales of marijuana to foreigners would be prohibited.

The government’s priority will be to prevent state-produced marijuana from entering the local or international black market.

“Someone has to start in South America,” said Mujica. “Somebody has to be first, because we are losing the battle against drugs and crime on the continent. I do this for the youth, because the traditional ways of addressing this problem have failed.”