International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2018/Spring 2019 | Page 40

Initial Impact of the Legalization of Cannabis on Criminality in Uruguay
try's annual consumption, excluding the amount sold in pharmacies. Even including
the pharmacies, which move up to 5 metric tons per year, that leaves nearly
three-quarters of the national market in the hands of the black market.
There has now been a large increase in seizures of cannabis in Uruguay,
particularly coming in from Paraguay which is, according to the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the largest producer of marijuana in Latin
America. However, the yawning shortfall in legal production may not be the only
explanation for this trend. Other theories have been proposed; according to one
Uruguayan journalist, this change in the amount of seizures reflects a change of
strategy on the part of the authorities in which they had to "seize the cannabis in
order to avoid criticism from abroad .... And perhaps to create a diversion from
cannabis so that the international community would stop focusing on the increasingly
large quantities of cocaine now being trafficked through Uruguay." 11 In this
way the security forces, which are generally less favorable toward the new policy,
seem to be playing their own game by centering their efforts on illegal cannabis,
with the aim of turning the spotlight onto the shortcomings of the legislation.
Mario Layera, Uruguay's National Chief of Police, announced that "In 2016,
we reached record levels of seizures of products coming into the country from
outside, showing that trafficking into Uruguay has not been seriously deterred." 12
At the same time, between 2012 and 2016, seizures of cocaine collapsed from 1.5
metric tons to 116 kilos.
Whatever this may indicate, according to the Uruguayan authorities the
only thing that can prevent a breakthrough against the predominance of illegally
produced marijuana would be to increase the amount of legally produced cannabis
sold via the pharmacies, in order to "progressively choke off that aspect of the
region's criminal economy by producing more legal cannabis through new and
increasing numbers of legal producers." 13 The delayed start in implementing the
reform has meant that it is still too soon to see its full impact, as one of its key
elements–the sale of cannabis in pharmacies–only came into effect in July 2017, a
delay that prevented the reforms from meeting Uruguay's demand for cannabis.
Diversion of Legally Produced Cannabis
Is the increase in seizures in Uruguay mainly due to cannabis produced in Paraguay?
Or could some of it be cannabis diverted from the cooperatively run
Cannabis Social Clubs (CSC) which, it should be remembered, can only produce
cannabis for the consumption of their duly registered membership, and are
11 Journalist, Nicolas Delgado.
12 "Uruguay: augmentation du trafic de cannabis, malgré la légalisation," AFP, March 8, 2017.
13 Interview, CANNALEX, Uruguay, 2016
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