Pubdate: Fri, 16 Aug 2013
Source: Guardian Weekly, The (UK)
Copyright: Guardian Publications 2013
Contact:  http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/GWeekly/front/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/633
Author: Uki Goni

URUGUAY HEADS TOWARDS A LEGAL HIGH

Country Set to Become First in World to Legalise Production and Sale 
of Marijuana, Says Uki Goni

The "weed brothers" have been turning away potential pot-buying 
customers from their tiny shop in Montevideo quite a lot recently. 
"They come about three times a day to ask if we're selling marijuana 
yet," say Juan and Enrique Tubino. They've had to put up a sign 
stating: "We don't sell marijuana." Matilde Campodonico/ap Open 
support ... a man smokes marijuana outside Uruguay's congress

It's not just because the Tubino brothers keep their shop packed high 
with cannabis pipes, herb grinders and rolling paper  or because of 
the giant green hookah in the window  that would-be customers are 
pouring in. The big excitement is because tiny Uruguay, a country so 
small that a single dialling code covers the whole territory, is 
about to become the first in the world to legalise the production and 
sale of marijuana. The Tubinos are hoping that their Yuyo Brothers 
shop ( yuyo is Spanish for weed) can capitalise on its fame among 
Montevideo cannabis users to sell legally what goes into the pipes.

"When people think of liberal drug laws, they tend to think of 
Holland, but actually it's Uruguay that has always been at the 
forefront," says Hannah Hetzer, a young dual-nationality 
Austrian-American from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) who landed in 
Uruguay in February to help local drug reform activists. The DPA is a 
weighty US drug policy reform NGO that can boast tycoons such as 
George Soros and Sir Richard Branson and celebrities including Sting 
on its board of directors. "Uruguay never banned private consumption 
of any drug at all, including hard drugs such as heroin, even though 
their production and sale is banned," says Hetzer.

When Jose Mujica, Uruguay's president, put his considerable political 
weight behind drug law reform in this ultra-liberal South American 
state, the DPA sent Hetzer to Montevideo to guide money from Soros's 
Open Society Foundations into an unprecedented media campaign that 
helped to push the groundbreaking legal changes through the lower 
house of congress. Approval by the senate, where Mujica holds a 
strong majority, is expected soon, probably in October.

Other Latin American countries, such as Colombia and Bolivia, 
emboldened by Uruguay's move and frustrated over their own failure to 
beat the powerful and bloody illegal cartels that control drug 
production in the region, will be looking carefully at how the reform 
fares. The law will grant licences to private producers for 
large-scale cannabis farming and regulate the distribution of 
marijuana at controlled prices through pharmacies to registered 
consumers, all under the strict eye of the government. It will also 
allow home growing of up to six plants per household, and the 
creation of "cannabis clubs" in which home growers will be able to 
band together to produce marijuana in greater quantities as long as 
it is not for sale.

This is music to the ears of 27-year-old Enrique Tubino, the youngest 
of the two "weed brothers", who has been growing cannabis illegally 
at home for years. "Now we'll be able to grow our weed in peace 
without having to hide. That's going to be a big change, in our 
heads, in the concept, on the street. There's going to be many 
colourful balconies now," he laughs.

Marijuana consumption seems to be high in Uruguay, especially among 
young people. "Surveys show that about 4.5% of the population smokes 
marijuana on a more or less regular basis," says Sebastian Sabini, 
the 32-year-old bearded and sneaker-wearing congressman who drafted 
the new law. Even though support for the reform is low among the 
population at large, there is no strong vocal opposition so far. 
"Polls placed those against the law at about 66% at the start of this 
year," says Hetzer. "And even after our intense media campaign, that 
only dropped by about three points, but it is not an issue that could 
sway an election."

Opponents of the law disagree with technical aspects, but not the 
essence. "Smoking marijuana is legal in Uruguay, you can't be 
arrested for smoking on the street; you could smoke here in front of 
the building of congress without any problem, even before this law," 
says Javier Garcia, a congressman who voted against the change. "I'm 
a doctor and I don't agree with the law for medical reasons. I don't 
believe that marijuana is not a stepping stone to harder drugs such 
as cocaine, as its proponents allege. I feel we just don't have 
enough scientific research yet to back this law; there's no 
international precedent. It raises the risk of drug tourism and 
consumption is already legal, so what's the basis for it? Not 
individual freedom, because private consumption is already guaranteed."

Supporters and critics of the reform both see the ghost of American 
"imperialism" behind legalisation, on the one hand, and the war 
against drugs on the other. Sabini sees US support for the war on 
drugs in Latin America as a tool for dominance over weak nations. 
"The US provides the arms and we provide the dead," he says.

But Garcia sees instead a new brand of "US imperialism" behind 
powerful NGOs such as the Drug Policy Alliance pumping dollars into 
Uruguay to support the new law. "They are using us as a testing 
ground for reforms that they wouldn't dare test at home. They're 
treating us like guinea pigs."

Hetzer sees it differently. "Uruguay is the perfect country to do 
this; it's small, it's got good institutions, very little 
corruption," she says. "And this drug law reform follows in the same 
year that Uruguay legalised abortion and same-sex marriage. It's part 
of a broader trend towards a more liberal society that's taking 
place; it's not just a single issue."

Despite the consensus, some aspects of the law remain contested. 
Small entrepreneurs such as the Tubino brothers are unhappy about 
only pharmacies so far being allowed to sell marijuana. "That's 
giving too much power to the multinationals or anyone with big money, 
as they would be the only ones who could finance such a distribution 
system," says Enrique Tubino. "There's a rumour that tobacco 
companies are studying this, which would be the worst. Can you 
imagine? The Green Marlboro!"

"We've been having offers from investors from Spain and Holland. 
Those are big tigers," says Juan Tubino. "We'd like the government to 
set up some protectionism to defend us Uruguayans against that. But 
if it doesn't, we'll just have to grow tough nails and fight against 
the tigers, too."

Observer
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