from web site
In 2013, Uruguay ended up being the first country in the world to legalize cannabis. Although Uruguay decriminalized ownership of the drug in 1974, the country's decision to try complete legalization was controversial. At the time, Uruguay's president, Jos "Pepe" Mujica, a previous leftist guerrilla, explained the choice as an "intellectual experiment" to take a look at an option to the "war on drugs" technique favored by the United States and waged in large part in Latin America.
Mujica's objective was to make marijuana widely available and budget friendly to push drug traffickers out of the market. Notably, legalization did not signal deregulation: Only Uruguayan drug stores are allowed to offer the drug, and the regulations restrict its sale to citizens who sign up with the government and limit their purchase to 10 grams a week.

Uruguay's experience offers insights for Mexico and other nations pondering legalization. In spite of fears of a surge in marijuana usage in Uruguay, there has actually just been a five percentage point boost in users given that 2013. Still, Another Point of View have failed to satisfy demand; just a 3rd of users purchased marijuana from the regulated market in 2018.


Uruguay-based Fotmer, Dormul and Burey are licensed to produce medical marijuana for Uruguay. In 2020, the Canadian firm Boreal opened a medical hemp processing plant in Uruguay. Now, cannabis growers in Uruguay are ready to look beyond domestic users, especially should major markets like Mexico open. Brazil legislated medical cannabis in 2019 but does not allow its regional production, producing a chance for Uruguayan manufacturers.
Uruguay started to export marijuana in 2019 and doubled exports in 2020, to $7. 3 million. Uruguay-based Fotmer Life Sciences anticipates that 80 countries could legislate medical cannabis in the near future, with an expected market worth of $100 billion over the next decade. Last year, the business sent its first delivery to Australia.
Outside of Latin America, federal governments are likewise experimenting with legal marijuana usage and looking at the Uruguayan experience. In 2018, Canada legalized the leisure use of marijuana. In the United States, medical marijuana is legal in 35 states and the District of Columbia, while the recreational use of marijuana is legal in 15 states.