http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18529993 I hope this trend spreads like a fire. Good for Uruguay, one of the few LA countries which aren't US bitches and are civilized at the same time. Ok it's likely the only one as well as Argentina.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/06/21/uruguay-legalizes-marijuana-to-fight-crime/ It's been legalized !!!
How fucking incredible. I hope other countries in South America follow their example. Felt damn good to read that news. Super exciting.
Maijuana is already legal in Uruguay, There hasnt been any laws making it criminal since.... Ever??(maybe not). The goverment is just looking at trying to sell it, I believe
At the moment possesion is legal for personal use, however you can't grow your own plant nor buy any marijuana. This proposition will make the government the official distributor of marijuana, with up to 40 joints per month.
I've been reading this forum (awesome one!) for a while and now that it is my country in the eye of the storm, I decided to shed some light on the topic here. This was undoubtely the most discussed issue this couple of days in the country. What has been said so far and a brief explanation of what the government (President and Minister) has shared so far: The plan is, basically, that the government plant, harvest, quality-test and distribute pot in certain spots, where each citizen willing to buy, must register to this 'system', and -info leaked- with a limit of 40 joints (don't ask if they're going to sell rolled, or how are they going to measure that, no idea, no-one has) for each person, each month. The price will be fair (tending to cheap) and will have some taxes devoted to the treatment of addicts in need (of any drug, I guess). So that, they aim at destroying illegal traffic, but also have a strict control over the distribuition and the product, which seems nice. This, as you can see, is still highly undetailed since they have to present the law-project to the senators and stuff yet to be approved, and all we have are some words thrown in conferences by the previous mentioned politics. Some needed background of Uruguay's pot situation: - Weed as you (rest of the world) know it (natural), is really hard to get (expensive, too much), so 90% of the market here is dominated by 'prensado' (translated 'pressed', or 'under-pressure', something like that, sorry) which is weed along with other filling stuff (not healthy, at all) including branches, grass sometimes, etc. put under pressure mixed with a little of whiskey in order to shrink it, and make more profit out of a certain amount of real pot. (Yeah, it totally sucks!), this is consumed not only here but in Argentina and Paraguay (where this product is 'manufactured') at least, maybe I'm missing some other latin american country. The resulting smell of the 'prensado' is less natural, but the effect is almost the same though. (I've tried both, of course) So the idea of getting good quality pot straight from the state, legally and at fair prices, is thrilling Uruguayan hearts these days - There's 'pasta base' (aka. 'paco' in Argentina) here which is a highly addictive and deadly drug here made out of the worst leftovers from cocaine production, causing the consumers to end up robbing even their families and selling own stuff, killing for a few bucks, turning violent, etc. so then they can buy or trade the drug for stolen goods or money. The government feels and claimed that this marijuana measure will help those people (or prevent future others) moving to weed and stay cool, based on proven things like the Netherlands experience with coffee-shops(controversial, huh? trying to stop a drug with the allowance of another drug, this is the main weakspot used by oppositors). (This is also why pot will be cheap, this low-class people should afford it). Now, personally, I think this is a good decision taken, and I feel this country is moving and transforming towards a more tolerant society not only in this matter. I would be glad to buy this weed from the gvt. Seems like the best solution to the tedious and violent black market we have now, and assures the quality of the dunk smoked by the population, instead of the damaging 'prensado'. However, I don't feel this will be as effective as in Netherlands in their fight against cocaine, since 'pasta base' is much more damaging and will be cheaper anyway, plus I don't think no 'pasta base' consumer would replace it with weed. I hope this helped a bit to explain the current situation and feel free to ask any questions! Sorry for my English level, I tried my best! I leave a link to a picture where 'prensado' is shown, for you to see how it looks like: http://k.min.us/ijPy7S.JPG
@ Felipaoo Great first post. Thank you for taking the time to create an account and for giving us a nice personal perspective. Hope to see you around the City.
Prensado is looking very, very hardcore. You could build a house with that stuff by the looks of it! I wish Uruguay all the best with this, they could be a great example to South America.
It could still be bad for the government to handle it tho (case in point; Canada's mmar supply), but from the sounds of Felipaoo's post it seems like it would be a step up from what they have now. Either way, it will be interesting to see how it all pans out
Looks like I might have found my next vacation country to visit! Hey Felipaoo, how is it with tourists and cannabis? Do you have to be a citizen?
LOL! Cannabis tourism is one of the popular issues debated too. I want to make clear again that all we have are a couple of public statements from politics assuring that they're working on it. They have announced this one along with other 14 'security measures' that will take place some time in the future. In the next 48 hrs some of them will start to be discussed about, but it is not known which of them. There are lots of details to determine and debate (tourists related, among them) and then I guess it will take a few month for the laws to be modified and the production started. We are still in the same point until legal advance is made.
Wonderful news! I would prefer full legalization with only basic regulation as with any herb (clean and what it says it is). The next step is to educate people about what cannabis really is (besides a fun way to get high ) Most people are not aware of the healing potential of cannabis! Everyone fears Alzheimer's. In the US, Aricept is the #1 drug to fright Alzheimer's. Yet THC from marijuana fights it almost 10 times better than than Aricept! WebMd had an article about it. Marijuana May Slow Alzheimer's (news - 2006) Marijuana May Slow Alzheimer's “THC blocks an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase, which speeds the formation of amyloid plaque in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer's drugs Aricept and Cognex work by blocking acetylcholinesterase. When tested at double the concentration of THC, Aricept blocked plaque formation only 22% as well as THC, and Cognex blocked plaque formation only 7% as well as THC.†And then there are these WebMD articles- Marijuana Chemical Fights Hardened Arteries Marijuana Chemical Fights Hardened Arteries Chemicals in Marijuana May Fight MRSA Marijuana Ingredients May Fight MRSA Marijuana's Active Ingredient Targets Deadly Brain Cancer Marijuana's Active Ingredient Targets Deadly Brain Cancer Marijuana May Fight Lung Tumors Marijuana May Fight Lung Tumors Marijuana Ingredients Slow Invasion by Cervical and Lung Cancer Cells Pot Slows Cancer in Test Tube Marijuana Ingredient May Cut Fibromyalgia Pain Marijuana Ingredient May Cut Fibromyalgia Pain Cannabis Relieves Multiple Sclerosis Pain (news - 2004) Cannabis Relieves Multiple Sclerosis Pain Pot Chemical May Curb Inflammation (news – 2007) Pot Chemical May Curb Inflammation What right does ANY government have to restrict the use of such a useful herbal medicine! Granny ps- links to all those articles, and many more, are available as a PDF (or WORD doc, if you ask for it), by emailing me! See the bottom of my sig.