Uruguay legalises weed

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguay became the
first country to legalize the growing, sale and
smoking of marijuana on Tuesday, a pioneering
social experiment that will be closely watched
by other nations debating drug liberalization.
A government-sponsored bill approved by
16-13 votes in the Senate provides for
regulation of the cultivation, distribution and
consumption of marijuana and is aimed at
wresting the business from criminals in the
small South American nation.
Backers of the law, some smoking joints,
gathered near Congress holding green balloons,
Jamaican flags in homage to Bob Marley and a
sign saying: "Cultivating freedom, Uruguay
grows."
Cannabis consumers will be able to buy a
maximum of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) each
month from licensed pharmacies as long as
they are Uruguayan residents over the age of
18 and registered on a government database
that will monitor their monthly purchases.
When the law is implemented in 120 days,
Uruguayans will be able to grow six marijuana
plants in their homes a year, or as much as
480 grams (about 17 ounces), and form
smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members that can
grow up to 99 plants per year.
Registered drug users should be able to start
buying marijuana over the counter from
licensed pharmacies in April.
"We begin a new experience in April. It
involves a big cultural change that focuses on
public health and the fight against drug
trafficking," Uruguay's first lady, Senator Lucía
Topolansky, told Reuters.
Uruguay's attempt to quell drug trafficking is
being followed closely in Latin America where
the legalization of some narcotics is being
increasingly seen by regional leaders as a
possible way to end the violence spawned by
the cocaine trade.
Rich countries debating legalization of pot are
also watching the bill, which philanthropist
George Soros has supported as an
"experiment" that could provide an alternative
to the failed U.S.-led policies of the long "war
on drugs."
The bill gives authorities 120 days to set up a
drug control board that will regulate
cultivation standards, fix the price and
monitor consumption.
The use of marijuana is legal in Uruguay, a
country of 3.3 million that is one of the most
liberal in Latin America, but cultivation and
sale of the drug are not.
Other countries have decriminalized marijuana
possession and the Netherlands allows its sale
in coffee shops, but Uruguay will be the first
nation to legalize the whole chain from
growing the plant to buying and selling its
leaves.
Several countries such as Canada, the
Netherlands and Israel have legal programs for
growing medical cannabis but do not allow
cultivation of marijuana for recreational use.
Last year, the U.S. states of Colorado and
Washington passed ballot initiatives that
legalize and regulate the recreational use of
marijuana.
Uruguay's leftist president, Jose Mujica,
defends his initiative as a bid to regulate and
tax a market that already exists but is run by
criminals.
"We've given this market as a gift to the drug
traffickers and that is more destructive socially
than the drug itself, because it rots the whole
of society," the 78-year-old former guerrilla
fighter told Argentine news agency Telam.
NOT ALL CONVINCED
Uruguay is one of the safest Latin American
countries with little of the drug violence or
other violence seen in countries such as
Colombia and Mexico.
Yet one-third of Uruguay's prison inmates are
serving time on charges related to narcotics
trafficking that has turned Uruguay into a
transit route for Paraguayan marijuana and
Bolivian cocaine.
Even though it is set to clear the Senate, the
legislation faces fierce opposition from
conservatives and Mujica has yet to convince a
majority of Uruguayans that it is a good idea.
According to a recent opinion poll by Equipos
Consultores, 58 percent of Uruguayans oppose
legalizing pot, although that is down from 68
percent in a previous survey in June.
Critics say legalization will not only increase
consumption but open the door to the use of
harder drugs than marijuana, which according
to government statistics is used by 8 percent
of Uruguayans on a regular basis.
"Competing with drug traffickers by offering
marijuana at a lower price will just increase
the market for a drug that has negative effects
on public health," said Senator Alfredo Solari
of the conservative Colorado Party.
If it works, the legislation is expected to fuel
momentum for wider legalization of marijuana
elsewhere, including the United States and in
Europe. Decriminalization of all drug
possession by Portugal in 2001 is held up as a
success for reducing drug violence while not
increasing drug use.
"This development in Uruguay is of historic
significance," said Ethan Nadelmann, founder
of the Drug Policy Alliance, a leading sponsor
of drug policy reform partially funded by Soros
through his Open Society Foundation.
"Uruguay is presenting an innovative model
for cannabis that will better protect public
health and public safety than does the
prohibitionist approach," Nadelmann said.