MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - The government in Uruguay may soon get its hands dirty with marijuana as part of a rising movement in Latin American nations to create alternatives to the U.S.-led war on drugs. Uruguay President Jose Mujica first called for "regulated and controlled legalization of marijuana" in a security plan unveiled last month. U.N. officials say no other country has seriously considered creating a completely legal state-managed monopoly for marijuana or any other substance prohibited by the 1961 U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

[continues 366 words]