A groundbreaking passage of marijuana legalization has made Uruguay the first country in the world to allow the growing, sale, and consumption of the drug.
Though Uruguay’s President, Jose Mujica, still has to sign the bill, he has backed the passage of marijuana legalization for quite some time.
Mujica told CNN last year of his support:
“If we legalize it, we think that we will spoil the market (for drug traffickers) because we are going to sell it for cheaper than it is sold on the black market,” he said. “And we are going to have people identified.”
Consumers will be able to buy, at most, 40 grams each month from licensed pharmacies as long as they are over 18 years of age, Uruguayan residents, and registered in a government database that will supposedly monitor their purchases.
Former Health Minister Alfredo Solari, a Colorado Party senator, told FOX News that his concern is for the children and adolescents who will have an easier time obtaining marijuana: “The effects of this policy on public health will be terrible,” he said. Solari also told NBC: “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…”
The passage of this bill seats the South American country as the frontrunner of open-minded drug policies. Before Uruguay, the Netherlands was seen to have one of the most liberal drug policies globally, as recreational drugs are illegal but there is a culture of tolerance for them.
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