MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) - The legal sale of marijuana in Uruguayan pharmacies is facing challenges as banks refuse to deal with companies linked to the drug in order to follow international financial laws.

A government official said Friday that Uruguayan banks risk running afoul of laws that ban receiving money tied to the drug. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In July, marijuana went up for sale at 16 pharmacies as part of a 2013 law that made Uruguay first to legalize a pot market covering the entire chain from plants to purchase.

[continues 249 words]

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - The rules are a bit of a buzzkill. Drug users must officially register with the government. Machines will scan buyers' fingerprints at every purchase, and there are strict quotas to prevent overindulgence.

But when Uruguay's marijuana legalization law takes full effect on Wednesday, getting high will take a simple visit to the pharmacy.

As American states legalize marijuana and governments in the hemisphere rethink the fight against drugs, Uruguay is taking a significant step further: It is the first nation in the world to fully legalize the production and sale of marijuana for recreational use.

[continues 1284 words]

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay-Tiny Uruguay embarked on an ambitious social experiment Wednesday by becoming the first country to regulate and oversee the sale of marijuana, a policy that has enthralled pro-pot activists and smokers abroad but has lukewarm support at home.

Under tight restrictions, the only establishments licensed to offer marijuana are pharmacies, 16 of which began to sell here in the capital. Pot connoisseurs lined up and then gushed about both buying marijuana legally and the product's quality.

"It tastes great," said Daniel Souza, 48 years old, a hospital worker who lighted up in front of city hall. "This kind of weed is great for creativity. It will be good for my guitar playing."

[continues 725 words]

Montevideo (AP) - Uruguay is home to the world's first government-regulated national marketplace for pot, so it's not surprising that growers have a competition for best marijuana.

At the Cannabis Cup in Montevideo over the weekend, a panel of regional experts judged entries for aroma, flavour, effects and strength before picking the winners of the best indoor and outdoor crops.

Silver cups were awarded to the winners and all competitors received a jar with samples from others in the tournament.

[continues 60 words]

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) - Rossana Rilla could sell marijuana under Uruguay's pioneering law that lets pharmacies distribute pot. But she says there is no way she will.

In her 28 years as a pharmacist, she has been beaten, dragged across the floor and threatened by thieves at gunpoint and with a grenade. She fears that selling marijuana would only make her store a bigger target for robbers and burglars.

"You see their faces and you can tell right away that they are not consumers who are here just to buy" marijuana, Rilla said about the "suspicious people" who have recently been coming into her Montevideo pharmacy asking if she sells pot.

[continues 530 words]