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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom