Pubdate: Wed, 11 Dec 2013
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Nick Miroff

URUGUAY'S SENATE VOTES TO LEGALIZE POT

Measure Clears Final Hurdle; State to Regulate Growing, Selling of Drug

Mexico city - Lawmakers in the small South American nation of Uruguay 
voted Tuesday to legalize and regulate marijuana, going further than 
any other country in the world toward decriminalizing the plant and 
lifting the stigma from its use.

With the move, Uruguay leaps to the forefront of nations that have 
sought alternatives to criminal anti-narcotics enforcement, 
frustrated with the human and economic costs of fighting a drug war 
that rarely shows signs of progress.

The Uruguayan government will have 120 days to implement its plans 
for a sprawling reefer bureaucracy - the Institute for the Regulation 
and Control of Cannabis - to manage the country's new marijuana marketplace.

"Uruguay has taken a step forward," said Sen. Luis Rosadilla, from 
the ruling Broad Front party, just before voting in favor of the 
measure, which passed 16 to 13 in the upper chamber. "We'll see how 
it works, and we'll continue looking for solutions."

Unlike Mexico, Colombia and many other countries in Latin America 
that are mired in drug violence and the corrosive influences of 
transnational cartels, Uruguay (population 3.3 million) has 
relatively little crime. But lawmakers in the country said legalizing 
marijuana and tightly regulating its production, sale and consumption 
is a sensible alternative to the seemingly Sisyphean task of banning 
its citizens' pot use.

Under the law, marijuana users will be allowed to buy a maximum of 40 
grams (1.4 ounces) each month from government-regulated outlets, 
provided that they are at least 18 years old and registered in a 
database to monitor their cumulative purchases.

Growers will be allowed to cultivate up to six plants in their homes 
each year, not to exceed 480 grams. Aficionados will also be able to 
join forces and establish smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members with the 
ability to produce 99 plants a year. The green stuff won't be allowed 
over the borders.

Nor will foreign tourists will be eligible to buy Uruguay's legalized 
weed, making it improbable that Montevideo, the capital, will turn 
into a southern Amsterdam besieged by a flood of global stoners.

The experiment in Uruguay will be closely watched by other countries 
in Latin America and around the world, including the United States.

"For the first time, a country has said we'll take the profits out of 
the drug trade and give criminals no reason to traffic the stuff," 
said Sanho Tree, a drug policy expert at the Institute for Policy 
Studies in Washington. "It's a counterintuitive solution to the problem."

Many Uruguayans have been less enthusiastic, with polls showing that 
a majority of voters were not in favor of the measure.

"I hope I'm wrong, but this is going to contribute to the further 
deterioration of our education system, especially among the poorest 
classes," said Sen. Alfredo Solari, before voting against the measure 
after more than 12 hours of debate.

The legislation has already cleared Uruguay's lower house and has the 
backing of the country's quirky president, Jose "Pepe" Mujica, a 
former Marxist guerrilla who says he has never smoked pot.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom