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Uruguay Votes Up Drug Legalization
3 August 2013
(LPAC)—In what the London Economist calls "another blow against prohibition," on July 31 Uruguay’s lower house of Congress voted 50-46 to approve a government bill to legalize and regulate the production and sale of marijuana. Senate approval is a given, to sign into the law a bill that will allow citizens to consume marijuana by growing up to six plants at home, by "joining a club," or buying up to 40 grams (1.4 oz) a month from licensed pharmacies. The fight to get through this legislation hasn’t been easy. President José Mujica, who authored the plan, was forced to delay its introduction earlier this year because of fierce popular opposition, even within his own ruling Frente Amplio coalition. A recent poll showed opposition from 63% of the population. The George Soros-financed U.S. Drug Policy Alliance is, of course, euphoric. Spouting the British Queen’s perspective for an Opium War against the Americas, executive director Ethan Nadelman gushed on July 31 that "sometimes small countries do great things. Uruguay’s bold move does more than follow in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington [State]. It provides a model for legally regulating marijuana that other countries, and U.S. states will want to consider—and a precedent that will embolden others to follow in their footsteps." [crr] |