Pubdate: Fri, 02 Aug 2013
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Andres D'Alessandro and Chris Kraul

URUGUAY WEIGHS LEGAL POT MEASURE

The country is poised to become the first in Latin America to 
legalize marijuana.

BUENOS AIRES - Uruguay appears likely to become the first Latin 
American country to legalize marijuana after its lower house of the 
congress approved a bill to regulate pot and sanction its consumption.

Uruguay's upper house, the senate, still must pass the measure, but 
analysts believe the government-led majority favors the bill and that 
it will be approved by October. President Jose Mujica is a strong 
proponent of the measure, which polls show is opposed by a majority 
of Uruguayans.

The 50-46 vote in Montevideo, the capital, late Wednesday came as 
legalization or decriminalization of drugs is increasingly debated 
among Latin American leaders, who see the U.S.-led war on drugs as a failure.

They complain that cocaine, marijuana and heroin continue to flow to 
U.S. consumers while Latin American countries pay the price in 
violence and organized crime. The presidents of Guatemala and 
Colombia have said new ways of stopping drug trafficking should be considered.

"Uruguay will be bravely taking a leading role in establishing and 
testing a compelling alternative to the prohibitionist paradigm," 
said John Walsh of the Washington Office on Latin America, a 
Washington-based think tank that has urged a revision of drug policies.

In a statement Thursday, Walsh noted that Uruguay would join the U.S. 
states of Colorado and Washington in legalizing the consumption of 
marijuana, and that dozens of drug policy nongovernmental 
organizations, as well as former Brazilian President Fernando 
Henrique Cardoso, endorsed the measure.

As passed by the chamber of deputies, the bill somewhat resembles 
California's medical marijuana law, although the Uruguayan measure is 
aimed at recreational use. It would allow home cultivation of 
marijuana and the monthly sale of up to 1.4 ounces per month to users 
who buy it at licensed pharmacies. The lawmakers turned aside a 
Mujica initiative that the state monopolize the drug's production and 
distribution.

The bill would also allow the formation of marijuana clubs, with 15 
to 45 members each, to grow the plants.

Mujica has touted the measure as a way of fighting illegal drug trafficking.

"At the heart of the Uruguayan marijuana regulation bill is a focus 
on improving public health and public safety," said Hannah Hetzer of 
the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, a civil society group that 
favors new approaches to what it calls a "failed war on drugs."

Casting a decisive vote was ruling coalition Deputy Dario Perez, who 
said he went along with the proposal to maintain solidarity with 
fellow members of his Frente Amplio party, despite personal doubts 
that he said are shared by a majority of Uruguayans. According to a 
poll by the firm Cifra, 63% of the population opposes marijuana 
legalization and 26% supports it.

"I am a member of the Frente Amplio, they are my comrades and so I 
will cast my fate with them and see what the effects of this are five 
or 10 years from now," Perez said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom