Its that man again …. Yes my personal political hero, a man with whom I share little in political ideology, but whom I totally admire for his courage and his convictions (the political kind, not the legal type – of which he’s had a few as well). Yes, Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, who has kept to his word, and while opposed to hard drug consumption has enacted legalisation laws to take the multi-million-dollar cannabis business away from the drug cartels.
Quite simply, he has kept to his political word, and gone ahead, despite local and international opposition and extended an already liberal tolerance of cannabis usage in Uruguay, in to allowing registered users to grow, or buy at licensed pharmacies, up to 40g of cannabis a month each. This won’t be extended to tourists etc, so don’t go there expecting a free for all (try Portugal for that), but effectively removes the cannabis market away from the drug lords, while providing more revenue to the state.
He naturally faces criticism both at home and abroad, with the United Nations declaring that it violates international law, but at least he’s giving it a go … so finally those of us who believe that it’s the only practical approach to drug usage that might take the money out of criminal hands, and back into the peoples, will have some evidence one way or another.
The move is being watched keenly by all the ‘Narco States’ in the region, with some already hailing his move as "a visionary" step, while Mexico has suggested that it doesn’t go far enough …. They have warned that "unilateral policies" will not tackle the issue and have asked for a global discussion about drug policy …. Sadly unless the USA agrees to think about this again, it will only be "unilateral policies" that will be made.
Still, as one man once said, a journey of a thousand miles starts with one footstep, so if enough small states made "unilateral policy" changes, that would be a lot of footsteps on the thousand mile trek to common sense. Oddly he's now also inadvertently pleased a lot of those who used the term 'Bong bongo' land to deride foreigners, because Uruguay can now legitimately be described as 'Bong Bong' land.
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| Jose Mujica - Legalised Cannabis Growing |
Quite simply, he has kept to his political word, and gone ahead, despite local and international opposition and extended an already liberal tolerance of cannabis usage in Uruguay, in to allowing registered users to grow, or buy at licensed pharmacies, up to 40g of cannabis a month each. This won’t be extended to tourists etc, so don’t go there expecting a free for all (try Portugal for that), but effectively removes the cannabis market away from the drug lords, while providing more revenue to the state.
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| Plenty Of Tokers Agree With President Mujica |
He naturally faces criticism both at home and abroad, with the United Nations declaring that it violates international law, but at least he’s giving it a go … so finally those of us who believe that it’s the only practical approach to drug usage that might take the money out of criminal hands, and back into the peoples, will have some evidence one way or another.
The move is being watched keenly by all the ‘Narco States’ in the region, with some already hailing his move as "a visionary" step, while Mexico has suggested that it doesn’t go far enough …. They have warned that "unilateral policies" will not tackle the issue and have asked for a global discussion about drug policy …. Sadly unless the USA agrees to think about this again, it will only be "unilateral policies" that will be made.
Still, as one man once said, a journey of a thousand miles starts with one footstep, so if enough small states made "unilateral policy" changes, that would be a lot of footsteps on the thousand mile trek to common sense. Oddly he's now also inadvertently pleased a lot of those who used the term 'Bong bongo' land to deride foreigners, because Uruguay can now legitimately be described as 'Bong Bong' land.
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