Pubdate: Sat, 28 Dec 2013
Source: U.S. News & World Report (US)
Copyright: 2013 U.S. News & World Report
Contact: (202) 955-2685
Website: http://www.usnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/464
Author: Steven Nelson

URUGUAY'S PRESIDENT QUIETLY SIGNS MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION BILL

If you're 18 or older, you can now legally grow marijuana in the
South American country

Licensed pharmacies will not begin marijuana sales in Uruguay until
April or later.

Uruguayan President Jose Mujica quietly signed into law a bill
legalizing marijuana Monday night, making his country of 3 million the
first in the world to legalize, regulate and tax the drug.

Licensed pharmacies will not begin over-the-counter marijuana sales
until April or later, but residents of the South American country are
now allowed to grow up to six marijuana plants at home.

Uruguay's Senate approved the bill Dec. 10 in a 16-13 vote. Mujica
pitched the reform as part of an anti-crime package, but signed it
without much fanfare.

A spokesman for Mujica, Diego Canepa, told The Associated Press on
Tuesday -- Christmas Eve -- the reform was signed into law.

The legislative victory in Uruguay may inspire similar measures across
Latin America. Argentina's counter-narcotics chief, Juan Carlos
Molina, who is also a Roman Catholic priest, told a local radio
station after the Uruguay vote: "Argentina deserves a good debate
about this. ... We have the capacity to do it. We should not
underestimate ourselves." Leaders of at least one other Latin American
country may be mulling the idea.

Guatemala's president, Otto Perez Molina, hailed it as "an important
step," Agence France-Pressereported. Previously, during a Sept. 26
speech at the United Nations, Molina commended "the visionary decision
of the citizens of the states of Colorado and Washington," who
approved legalization ballot measures in November 2012.

[READ: Uruguay Violating Treaties By Legalizing Marijuana, U.N. Agency Says]

The Wall Street Journal reports marijuana legalization bills are being
drafted by legislators in Barbados, Belize Chile, Mexico City and
Trinidad and Tobago. Many other countries have decriminalized the
possession of marijuana for personal use.

"With a single signature, Mujica quietly started a trend that will
revolutionize the way the world chooses to address substance use and
abuse," said Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Executive Director
Major Neill Franklin, in a statement. "Uruguay is now the first nation
to legalize, regulate and control marijuana. It will not be the last."

Uruguay's legalization of marijuana, however, may be more tenuous than
legalization in Colorado and Washington, where widespread public
support was reflected in popular votes. Polls in Uruguay show a
majority of residents may actually oppose the change.

A survey conducted by the Cifra polling agency in late 2012 showed 64
percent opposition and 26 percent support for legalization. Jorge
Larranaga, a prospective conservative candidate in Uruguay's 2014
presidential election, says he will repeal the law if elected.

Another distinction from the U.S. measures is that Uruguay set the age
limit for marijuana possession and use at 18. The two successful
American ballot measures and all notable pending efforts in the U.S.
set the age at 21.

[ALSO: Does Uruguay's Move to Legalize Pot Mean the War on Drugs Is
Ending?]

It's currently unclear if Uruguay will face any international
repercussions for legalizing marijuana.

Raymond Yans, president of the International Narcotics Control Board,
a body that oversees compliance with U.N. anti-drug treaties, said
Dec. 12 Uruguay lawmakers "knowingly decided to break the universally
agreed and internationally endorsed legal provisions" contained in the
1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

But Yans made similar warnings about Colorado and Washington state,
and no consequences have been dealt to the U.S. In August the
Department of Justice said it would not seek to prevent the opening of
recreational marijuana stores in the two states -- which are set to
open in early 2014.

"The U.N. does have enforcement power," Kevin Sabet, a legalization
opponent who advised the Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama
administrations on drug policy, told U.S. News earlier this month. "So
the ball is in their court. I think they need to make it clear that
violating international law cannot be ignored."

As with the two American states that passed legalization measures,
specific regulations for marijuana production and sales were not
immediately addressed. Regulators have a deadline of April 9 to craft
those rules.
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MAP posted-by: Matt