Uruguay's lower house votes in favor of legalizing cannabis, taking the country to the edge of becoming the world's first legal cannabis market.
At 50 out of 96 votes, the Broad Front coalition approved the proposal after 13 hours of debate, a little before midnight last Wednesday. The next step is the Senate, bringing the dream of Uruguay's president Jose Mujica closer to reality.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Hannah Hetzer-coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance, shares that "The measure is an effort to put a halt on what Uruguayans see as a wave of crime related with marijuana."; that it is a call for " change in drug policy". For 40 years, the use of marijuana has been legal in the country but the sale and production are not.
The bill, once approved, will allow private companies to grow their own marijuana and sell them to legal pharmacies. It will also permit (only) the citizens of Uruguay 18 years and above, to grow up to 6 plants of cannabis at home and be given a monthly allowable purchase of 45 grams upon registering.
Not everyone is as approving as the country's president. While it is a motion to "contribute to the reduction of risks and potential dangers that people who use marijuana for recreation or medical reasons face", the Obama administration has always expressed its incessant opposition. Furthermore, Uruguay's opposition refers to the movement as "barbaric", with Broad Front' deputy Julio Bango stating that the bill will not fix cannabis-related issues.
As for allies, more and more Latin American leaders urge marijuana legalization- with the likes of Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
With the rampant drug cartels in Uruguay and the rest of Latin America, former Mexican President Vicente Fox that violence will not solve the problem- but marijuana legalization would.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
