On July 31, 2013, the Chamber of Deputies passed the bill to legalize and regulate the production and sale of cannabis and sent it to the state Senate. [17] [18] The bill passed with 50 votes in favour (the minimum required), with all members of the broad Front in power voting in favour and all other MPs voting against. [19] The bill was passed by the Senate Health Committee on November 26 and had been expected to be passed by the entire Senate since November 2013. [20] The new law was passed in the Senate on December 10, 2013 by a vote of 16 to 13. [21] President Mujica signed the law on December 23, 2013. [22] President José Mujica signed a law legalizing recreational cannabis in December 2013, making Uruguay the first country in modern times to legalize cannabis. Julio Calzada, secretary-general of Uruguay`s National Medicines Council, said in an interview in December 2013 that the government would be responsible for regulating the production of the process: “Companies can get a license to grow if they meet all the criteria. However, it will not be a free market. The government will control the entire production and determine the price, quality and maximum production volume.
[23] People will be allowed to buy up to 40 g (1.4 ounces) of cannabis from the Uruguayan government each month. Users must be at least 18 years old and registered in a national database to track their consumption. Growers are allowed to grow up to 6 crops in their homes each year and are not allowed to exceed 480 g (17 oz). Most Uruguayans are opposed to the legalization of marijuana, according to polls, but the coalition of left-wing Broad Front parties still seemed popular enough to expose themselves to disapproval of the law. “This is part of a new agenda that Uruguay has advanced in terms of legal rights in recent years,” said Adolfo Garcé, a political scientist at the University of the Republic in Montevideo, the capital. Legalization would make Mexico the largest legal marijuana market in the world, but it is several years behind the cannabis pioneer in Latin America. In 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize marijuana. Although Uruguay decriminalized drug possession in 1974, the country`s decision to attempt full legalization has been controversial.
The purpose of the Act is to reduce the profits that drug trafficking makes to organized crime and to reduce drug-related violence and related social problems. [11] Uruguay has one of the lowest homicide rates in the region (although, according to some estimates, crime increased slightly in 2013). [12] [13] It is still believed that a majority in Uruguay opposes legalization, but lawmakers pushed the vote after nonprofit groups came together in an awareness campaign to explain the medical use of marijuana and the economic benefits of growing the plant in Uruguay, where criminal networks are now largely smuggling marijuana out of Paraguay. In January, Mexico adopted new rules on medical marijuana, marking a new step toward a possible full legalization of the drug. The move follows Mexico`s 2018 decision that banning recreational marijuana was unconstitutional and the Senate`s November 2020 passage of a bill to legalize recreational marijuana use, which is expected to be submitted to the lower house in the coming months. It is important to note that legalization did not signal deregulation: only Uruguayan pharmacies are allowed to sell the drug, and the regulations limit sales to citizens who register with the government and limit their purchase to ten grams per week. The state agency responsible for overseeing the marijuana industry, the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Marijuana, also monitors the effectiveness of the drug`s active components. According to surveys conducted by Equipos Mori, Cifra and Factum in 2012-2013, 58 to 66 percent of Uruguayans opposed the legalization of marijuana sales, while 24 to 29 percent supported it. [29] [30] Rich countries debating the legalization of marijuana are also following the law, which philanthropist George Soros has argued as an “experiment” that could offer an alternative to the failed U.S.-led policy of the long “war on drugs.” Uruguay`s attempt to crack down on drug trafficking is being closely followed in Latin America, where the legalization of certain narcotics is increasingly seen by regional leaders as a possible way to end the violence caused by the cocaine trade. Nevertheless, Uruguayan producers have the advantage of entering to gain a niche in export markets and generate income and jobs for the country. Although his party opposed legalization, President Luis Lacalle Pou now sees the potential for an economic stroke of luck for the country, which relies heavily on the export of meat, soybeans and timber.