In 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world in which the state assumed full control of the production and marketing of recreational cannabis, thus ending drug trafficking and improving the health of the population..

Uruguay is a kind of island in Latin America. Surrounded by Argentina and Brazil, two giants in which political, economic and social instability are a constant, this small country of 3.4 million inhabitants stands out in the region for its full democracy and for having the best indicators in terms of poverty. and inequality.

It is also distinguished from the rest of Latin American countries by a series of progressive laws that have been approved in the last 15 years by the government of the leftist Frente Amplio.

Among these regulations, a pioneer in the world stands out that was approved in December 2013, when the Uruguayan State assumed control of the production, marketing and distribution of marijuana with the objective of“ending drug trafficking and improve the health of the population.”.

Legalizing cannabis for purposes beyond therapeutic meant taking an alternative route to the traditional prohibitionist regulation prevailing in the world and there have been many obstacles that this law has faced and continues to face today.

Pioneer, but not perfect: 11 years of adult-use cannabis legislation in Uruguay

The refusal of banks to work with companies that sell cannabis, the advance of cannabis tourism and the clandestine markets that emerged as a result of the law or the limited development of medicinal cannabis are some of the problems to be resolved after 11 years of regulation .

However, despite the problems, the resistance on the part of society and the State apparatus itself, Uruguay has established an innovative model from a human rights perspective and has marked a path for other countries that are now considering a similar process.

The Uruguayan law established three legal ways to access marijuana for recreational purposes: self-cultivation, which allows up to six plants per home, cannabis clubs, with up to a maximum of 99 plants, and sales in pharmacies. This third way enables the user to buy marijuana in containers of five grams for 220 pesos (just over six euros) and up to a maximum of 40 grams per month. The two varieties that can be purchased are indica and sativa, which contain between 7% and 9% THC.

In Uruguay there are three ways to access cannabis: self-cultivation of up to six plants, cannabis clubs and sales in pharmacies.

In any of the three options, the consumer must register in a registry, otherwise the activity would be illegal and they could even face prison sentences. Furthermore, only national citizens or citizens with legal residence in the country can access marijuana with a state guarantee, therefore, tourists are ruled out.

According to data from the Institute for Cannabis Regulation and Control (IRCCA), of the total of 97,408 users registered to access legal marijuana, 71,843 buy it in pharmacies, while 11,708 choose to grow it in their homes and the remaining 13,867 consumers belong to one of the 410 cannabis clubs that exist in the country.

Bank blockage

The free sale of marijuana in Uruguay is a success marred by unforeseen difficulties, such as the bank's veto of pharmacies that sell it.

The sale of marijuana in pharmacies, the most complicated part of the law, was enabled much later than the other two ways, in July 2017. In order to buy marijuana in any of the 40 pharmacies authorized in the country, registration is mandatory. , be over 18 years old and be a citizen or resident of Uruguay.

Just a few days after launching this new distribution route, it ran into the veto of the US bank, a problem that still remains a headache for many pharmacists.

Banks refuse to work with companies that are linked to cannabis for fear of being sanctioned abroad, because even though Uruguay has legalized the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes, the money comes from a business considered Illegal in most countries in the world.

Faced with this situation, pharmacies are doing their best and some have chosen to operate in cash.

Despite this pressure from the United States financial system, in recent years there has been a certain openness, since Washington expressed in February 2018 its interest in allowing US banks to handle money from the legal marijuana market, decision that has also been influenced by the fact that recreational use of cannabis was legalized in Canada in October of the same year.

Another problem that Uruguayan pharmacies have experienced at the beginning is that demand has been much higher than supply since initially only two companies were those that produced cannabis for recreational purposes. To alleviate this bottleneck, the Uruguayan government in February 2019 put out a tender to increase the production of this highly demanded product with five new companies.

Combat drug trafficking

According to a report from the IRCCA, it is estimated that the marijuana regulation law in Uruguay has managed to take from drug trafficking in the order of 22 million dollars in recent years. This is an important blow against the black market for our beloved plant, but this parallel market still resists and remains present in the country.

Thus, drug trafficking networks have gone from controlling 58% of the marijuana market to only 24% today, with consumers resorting five times less to drug trafficking according to a recent study.

The cannabis sold illegally in Uruguay comes mainly from Paraguay, the largest producer of marijuana in South America. This is a low quality product that includes seeds, branches and leaves, and because it is poorly pressed and not dried well, it usually has fungi. The so-called “Paraguayan pressed” continues to be the only option for consumers who have fewer economic resources, since 25 grams cost approximately 500 pesos, about 11 euros in exchange.

Cannabis tourism, an unstoppable reality

There is nothing better than visiting grow shops, stores specialized in seeds and accessories for growing the plant, to confirm that cannabis tourism in the country is already a reality, despite the prohibition by law.

Between lighting systems, fertilizers and devices for cutting up the plant, in these “specialized businesses” the law does not allow them to access legal marijuana, which constitutes a complete contradiction.

Many people responsible for this type of business consider that Uruguay is missing out on a great business opportunity by prohibiting the sale of marijuana to tourists, because in the end, one way or another, they are going to end up getting it. In this way, the state stops receiving a significant amount in taxes.

After the implementation of the law, a second gray market has been created, in which domestic growers or members of registered clubs divert part of their production for sale, mainly to tourists.

In that sense, many of the main researchers of the Uruguayan model consider that prohibiting the sale of legal marijuana to tourists “does not make sense”, since if Uruguay maintains that this law is In favor of human rights, all consumers should be eligible for these rights and therefore there should be no differences between residents and non-residents.

The Uruguayan state has already reiterated that its purpose is not to promote cannabis tourism. Unlike places like Colorado, in the USA, where the tourist accesses a registry during the time he stays there and can acquire several grams of marijuana.

In summary, in Uruguay there is a double discourse, because although there has been an opening with the new legal framework in which recreational cannabis consumers can move, prejudices are still very entrenched in society and that complicates everything , so perhaps there is still a way to go in the country, a path that, with the passing of the years of operation of this new pioneering law, is becoming increasingly shorter.