Uruguay Becomes The First Country In The World To Legalize Marijuana Use And Trade

Uruguay has become the first country in the world to legalize the sale, cultivation, transport and consumption of marijuana after the Senate approved the bill by a vote of 16 to 3. President José Mujíca led the initiative in the South American country to help combat the war against drugs. “This is an attempt to bring an end to the illegal drugs trade by identifying the market and bringing it into the light of day,” said President Mujica in a statement. RT News report that under the new legislation, the price of marijuana will be set at a dollar per gram, versus the illegal market price which is set at $1.40. Citizens over the age of 18 wanting to buy the substance will have to register with the government and will be able to buy up to 40 grams of marijuana from pharmacies each month. Those wanting the cultivate the plant, may do so with a maximum of 6 plants on their property.

A new body of government has been set up to preside over the sale and production of the drug. As part of the new legilsation cannabais clubs can be formed composed of 45 members who can grow collectively up to 100 plants. Another point of the legalization will be to use for medical purposes and scientific exploration of the drug. According to El Universal it will be prohibited from marketing marijuana publicly or the consumption in closed off spaces. Uruguay's National Drug Board has estimated it has around 120,000 marijuana users in the country that has 3.3 million inhabitants.

In the United States it is illegal to produce, sell and consume marijuana at the federal level. However, cannabis has slowly gained ground in some sectors of the country like the states of Colorado and Washington and the city of Portland, Maine. In Washington, the state requires a license from all sellers, distributors and producers of the plant. Anybody over the age of 21 is able to carry up to an ounce. The state does not allow to cultivate the plant at the users property except for medical use. On November 2012, it became legal for the sale and posession of marijuana for non-medical uses and private growing of up to six plans is no penalty. With the country of Uruguay legalizing the whole process the whole world will see what kind of repercussions this may have and the effects it has on the war against drugs.