International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2018/Spring 2019 | Page 42

Initial Impact of the Legalization of Cannabis on Criminality in Uruguay
financial circumstances, in order to check that both candidate firms had no links
to criminal groups.
Furthermore, the site given over to this public/private partnership is close
to a high-security prison and heavily protected by the Uruguayan police, and to
address the fears expressed by neighboring countries that the region might see
increased illegal trafficking of legally produced cannabis, a traceability system was
put in place. This works with a DNA database of the plants and is run by Uruguay's
Instituto de Regulación y Control del Cannabis (IRCCA) and the Ministry
of Health. In other words, when cannabis from Uruguay is seized in Argentina or
Brazil, it is possible to determine whether it comes from a legal or an illegal source.
A Gray Area for Tourists in Uruguay
Despite all these precautionary measures, it nonetheless appears that illegal
production could be developing, in particular, in response to a boom
in demand driven by foreign tourists. Uruguay's beach resorts are highly
thought of among Latin America's middle and wealthy classes. Every year tens of
thousands of mainly Argentinean and Brazilian tourists enjoy the beauty of the
country's comparatively crime-free coastal areas. Alongside the traditional tourist
activities, a large number of casinos and houses of prostitution (known as whiskerías),
which have been legal since 1940, offer adult entertainment that clients
may not necessarily be able to find in their own country.
Free port areas are also popular because of the cheap duty-free alcohol and
cigarettes to be found there. Thus, the cannabis regulations provide new opportunities
for tourism despite the law explicitly prohibiting non-residents from consuming
cannabis. 18 Cannabis tours have sprung up, where guides show people the
sites and "make available" a few Uruguayan joints, while hotels displaying "cannabis
friendly" signs set aside areas for the smoking of cannabis. On occasion, in place
of the traditional courtesy bowl of fruit, some establishments even offer a number
of free cannabis cigarettes, a gift that has encouraged a number of entrepreneurs to
ride the wave of toleration as far as making their customers certain "special offers."
The JND (Junta Nacional de Drogas), Uruguay's drug policy body, believes
that the (illegal) supply of cannabis to tourists remains a marginal issue and the
monitoring authorities follow this kind of occasional abuse to avoid it growing to
the point where it becomes unmanageable. Julio Calzada, one of those who backed
the law, does not think that this kind of minor infringement is any reason to cast
doubt on the objective of closing down the black market through the sale of legal
cannabis intended exclusively for Uruguayan nationals. 19
18 It is also illegal for non-residents either to grow cannabis or be a member of a growers' club. If a
foreign national is charged, administrative sanctions apply.
19 CANNALEX interview with Julio Calzada, Corporación Nacional de Desarrollo [National Devel-
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