Uruguay bid to regulate market in marijuana

Uruguay’s government has sent a bill to Congress that would allow the country to grow and sell marijuana, a move that the president, Jose Mujica, says will cut crime associated with illegal drug trafficking.

The use of cannabis is already legal in Uruguay, one of Latin America’s safest countries and a trailblazer on liberal law-
making. The bill would regulate its sale and production.

Other countries in the region, like Colombia and Mexico, have struggled for years with murders and other violence linked to the narcotics trade. Mr Mujica’s government says the negative effects of cannabis smoking are less harmful than the violence associated with the black market, where it trades illegally.

Registered consumers would be limited to buying 30 grams a month and foreigners would be banned from buying the drug to prevent the small country from becoming a hotspot for smoking tourists.

The state’s role as marijuana grower and distributor will be carried out “in the framework of a policy of damage reduction, while alerting the public to the dangers of using [the drug],” 
according to the bill.