Five months after legalising recreational marijuana, there are more than 16,000 Uruguayans registered to buy the drug from pharmacies, up from 5,000 users in July.People in Uruguay can also grow plants at home, or become a member of a local Cannabis Club to withdraw up to 40g of marijuana per month. There are 70 membership clubs, according to data from the Institute for Regulation and Control of Cannabis website.
With many countries around the world campaigning to legalise the sale and purchase of marijuana, the world’s eyes are on countries like Uruguay to see how the government coped with the new system and what obstacles they encountered.
Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalise the sale of recreational marijuana – across all of its territory – giving new access to highs for its population of 3.4 million people.
Campaigners say legalising marijuana helps to end drug trafficking and can save lives as illegal drugs are often mixed with ingredients that are dangerous to consume.
Since July, the government has worked to provide high-quality, low-cost marijuana to registered users, although the existing law has been accused of lacking clarity as to what other vendors can sell the drug and how to classify a pharmacy.
credit:independent.co.uk
