Uruguay becomes first country to legalize marijuana trade and use

Senators in Uruguay has approved a bill to become the first country in the world to legalize the growth, sale, and use of marijuana.

The congressional debate lasted 12 hours, with senators finally voting to pass the bill 16-13 late on Tuesday evening, following the approval of the bill in the lower house in July.

Senator Constanza Moreira, a member of the governing Broad Front coalition, said:

Today is an historic day. Many countries of Latin America, and many governments, will take this law as an example

Authorities now have four months to establish a control board to regulate standards and prices in the same way that alcohol or tobacco is regulated for sale. Marijuana growers will need a license from the authorities and they will then be limited to growing six plants per year.

Once the bill comes into effect in April, Uruguayan citizens over the age of 18 will be able to buy 40g of the drug each month from licensed pharmacies after registering on a national database.

Consumption of marijuana was already legal in Uruguay, but this this legislation to also legalise growing and selling the drug was originally proposed by President Jose Mujica, who said that the current worldwide “war on drugs” was a failure which provides organised crime with a major source of revenue.