Pubdate: Sat, 16 Nov 2013
Source: Metrowest Daily News (MA)
Copyright: 2013 MetroWest Daily News
Contact:  http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/619

CLOSER TO LEGALIZATION

Law enforcement, drug policy experts and consumers of illegal drugs
have long speculated on the consequences, good or bad, if marijuana
growth and use were simply legalized. Uruguay, a South American nation
of 3.4 million people tucked between Brazil and Argentina, is about to
become the first country to find out on a national scale.

A bill, advocated by President Jose "Pepe" Mujica, that has passed
Uruguay's lower house and is expected to soon pass the Senate would,
according to The Associated Press, make it "the first country in the
world to license and enforce rules for the production, distribution
and sale of marijuana for adult consumers."

Two U.S. states, Colorado and Washington, have already passed laws
legalizing and regulating production of marijuana, even though it is
technically illegal under federal law. More than 20 states have
legalized production and possession of marijuana for medical use. That
list includes Massachusetts, which is in the midst of an orderly
process of licensing a limited number of medical marijuana production
facilities and dispensaries.

Forty years into the war on drugs, America's "reefer madness" seems to
be dissipating. A recent Gallup poll found that 58 percent of
Americans now favor full legalization of pot.

Uruguay may be the first to legalize, but it likely won't be the last.
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MAP posted-by: Matt