DRUG POLICLY ALLIANCE: On Wednesday, the president of Uruguay submitted a proposal to Parliament to legalize marijuana under government-controlled regulation and sale, making it the first country in the world where the state would sell marijuana directly to its citizens. The proposal signed by Uruguayan President José Mujica is part of a package of measures aimed at fighting crime and requires parliamentary approval before being enacted.
Despite Uruguay being one of the safest countries in Latin America, it has faced an increase in crime from drug gangs due to its position on a drug transit route to Europe via West Africa. The aim of the measure is to combat the rising insecurity in Uruguay by removing the profits of marijuana sales from drug gangs, separating the marijuana market from those for other illegal drugs, and avoiding marijuana users’ exposure to drug dealers who also sell coca paste and cocaine. Additionally, the revenues from marijuana sales will be invested into treatment for problem drug users.
The single article of the proposal states that the government “will assume the control and the regulation of the activities of importation, production, acquisition of any title, storage, marketing, and distribution of marijuana and its derivatives” and that these activities “must be exclusively realized in the framework of a harm reduction policy.”
