Pubdate: Wed, 11 Dec 2013 Source: Baltimore Sun (MD) Copyright: 2013 Reuters Contact: http://www.baltimoresun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37 Authors: Malena Castaldii and Felipe Llambias URUGUAY LEGALIZING POT TRADE FROM ROOT TO TOOT 1st-In-World Law Will Allow Growth, Sale of Marijuana MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (Reuters) - Uruguay passed a law Tuesday allowing its citizens to grow, buy and smoke marijuana, becoming the first country in the world to legalize the full cycle, from cultivation and distribution to consumption of the drug. The government-sponsored bill, approved 16-13 in the Senate, provides for regulation of the cultivation, distribution and consumption of marijuana and is aimed at wresting the business from criminals in the small South American nation. Backers of the law, some smoking joints, gathered near Congress holding green balloons, Jamaican flags, in homage to Bob Marley, and a sign saying: "Cultivating freedom, Uruguay grows." "We begin a new experience in April. It involves a big cultural change that focuses on public health and the fight against drug trafficking," Uruguay's first lady, Sen. Lucia Topolansky, said. President Jose Mujica plans to sign it into law. When the law is implemented in 120 days, Uruguayans will be able to grow six marijuana plants in their homes a year, or buy as much as 480 grams, and form smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members that can grow up to 99 plants per year. Uruguay's attempt to undo drug trafficking is being followed in Latin America, where the legalization of some narcotics is increasingly seen by regional leaders as a possible way to end the violence spawned by the cocaine trade. Rich countries debating legalization of pot are also watching the bill, which American philanthropist George Soros has supported as an "experiment" that could provide an alternative to the failed U.S.led policies of the long "war on drugs." Authorities will have 120 days to set up a drug control board that will regulate cultivation standards, fix the price and monitor consumption. The use of marijuana is legal in Uruguay, a country of 3.3 million that is one of the most liberal in Latin America, but cultivation and sale of the drug are not. Other countries have decriminalized marijuana possession, and the Netherlands allows its sale in coffee shops, but Uruguay will be the first to legalize the whole chain. In the U.S., Colorado and Washington state last year passed ballot initiatives regulating the recreational use of marijuana. But in Uruguay, such regulation is unpopular with the public and faced opposition from conservatives. According to a recent opinion poll by Equipos Consultores, 58 percent of Uruguayans oppose legalizing pot, down from 68 percent in a previous survey in June. Critics say legalization will not only increase consumption but open the door to the use of harder drugs than marijuana, which according to government statistics is used by 8 percent of Uruguayans on a regular basis. "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," said Sen. Alfredo Solari of the conservative Colorado Party. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom