Via WaPo: Uruguay votes to legalize marijuana
Under the law, marijuana users will be allowed to buy a maximum of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) each month from government-regulated outlets, provided that they are at least 18 years old and registered in a database to monitor their cumulative purchases.
Growers will be allowed to cultivate up to six plants in their homes each year, not to exceed 480 grams. Aficionados will also be able to join forces and establish smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members with the ability to produce 99 plants a year. The green stuff won’t be allowed over the borders.
Nor will foreign tourists will be eligible to buy Uruguay’s legalized weed, making it improbable that Montevideo, the capital, will turn into a southern Amsterdam besieged by a flood of global stoners.
This will make for an interesting experiment in the ongoing debate over marijuana use and its legality. Uruguay does not, it should be noted, have the drug violence problems of many of its regional neighbors. It is a also a small population country, with roughly 3.3 million.
The truly interesting issue to watch will be the way regulation works, as well as how personal cultivation works out.
It should be noted that smoking marijuana in Uruguay was already decriminalized.
More from the BBC: Uruguay bill pioneers state control of cannabis market.
