Marijuana is grown domestically and imported from countries such as Mexico, Canada and Jamaica.
The lower house in Uruguay voted Wednesday night to legalize marijuana, paving the way for that country to radically transform its drug policy and setting an example for the rest of Latin America. Uruguay is actually the first country to set about establshing a legal system to regulate the growing, selling and taxation of pot.
Reporter Will Carless, a recent alumni of Voice of San Diego's investigative reporting squad, is in Uruguay and published this analysis and story for Globalpost.com. Carliss opines on five key takeaways from what he calls a "groundbreaking" bill:
- Nobody's ever done this before. Colorado and Washington have legalized use, but no one has set about establishing a legal industry.
- It's about security stupid: the Uruguayan government is taking away a big source of income from the cartels and legalizing a once-ilicit substance.
- The bill is actually not widely popular in Uruguay, especially outside of the capitol.
- It may or may not be a "finger in the eye" of the U.S. drug war. Much criticism of the U.S. failed war on drugs has spurred debate in Mexico and Latin America about the costs and benefits of legalization.
- The bill now goes to the Senate where it is expected to pass, and President Jose Mujica has pledged to sign the bill. It could go into effect as early as this month.
U.S. lawmakers and drug warriors are certainly watching closely.