Maximum Yield Cannabis USA April/May 2018 | Page 65

alization
Since Uruguay announced its
plan to legalize marijuana,
the world has kept its eyes
on the tiny South American
nation. Here’s an update.
I
n 2012, then-president Jose Mujica announced
plans to legalize the cultivation and sale of
marijuana in Uruguay. Since then, people living
in that country and around the world have been
watching this tiny nation’s experiment with interest.
But first, a little background. Marijuana is the
drug most commonly consumed after alcohol,
tobacco, and tranquilizers (with and without
medical prescription), according to a report by the
Uruguayan Observatory on Drugs. About 400,000
people, or 23.3 per cent of the population, between
15 and 65 years of age have used marijuana in their
lifetime, while 9.3 per cent say they have consumed
the substance in the last 12 months, 6.5 per cent in
the last 30 days, and 1.2 per cent consume it every
day. Pot use has always been legal in Uruguay, but
its sale, import, and cultivation were not, creating
quite a dichotomy in the minds of citizens.
“POT USE HAS ALWAYS BEEN LEGAL
IN URUGUAY, BUT ITS SALE, IMPORT,
AND CULTIVATION WERE NOT.”
Also, while Mujica introduced a series of liberal
reforms including state-controlled marijuana
during his 2010-2015 term, one shouldn’t assume
Mujica or the government endorses the product.
Mujica has on several occasions said he does not
approve of the use of pot or other drugs. Instead,
in an interview with CNN en Español in 2012, he
explained legalization this way: “If we legalize
it, we think that we will spoil the market (for drug
traffickers) because we are going to sell it for
cheaper than it is sold on the black market. And we
are going to have people identified.” Using state-
of-the-art technology, Mujica explained authorities
would track every gram of marijuana sold. Bags
would be bar-coded and genetic information of
legally produced plants would be kept on file,
allowing police to determine whether illegal
marijuana is being produced and sold.
myhydrolife.com
grow. heal. learn. enjoy.
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