On July 31st the lower house of Uruguay’s congress narrowly voted to legalise the production, sale and consumption of marijuana (cannabis). The bill has passed to the Senate, where it is expected to be approved with a comfortable margin. If it does, it will be signed into law by President José Mujica, who has long backed the proposal. By the end of the month it may be legal to light up a joint while watching the sun set over Punta del Este. Drug-law reformers hailed the bill’s progress as “historic”. But plenty of other countries, from Portugal to the United States, have loosened up their drug laws in recent years. What makes Uruguay’s proposals different?
Many countries have decriminalised the consumption of at least some narcotics. Portugal, an early trailblazer, decriminalised the personal possession and use of all drugs, including the nastiest ones, back in 2001. But decriminalisation is not the same as legalisation. Drug users in Portugal may still be stopped by the police, have their stash confiscated and be sent before a finger-wagging “dissuasion commission”. The Netherlands has for decades allowed licensed cafes to sell cannabis from elaborate menus. But the supply side of the business remains illegal—so the joints sold (legally) to tourists in Amsterdam are supplied (illegally) by criminals. Last year Colorado and Washington voted to legalise the cultivation, sale and consumption of marijuana. But the United States’ federal government remains opposed, and may yet try to shut the states’ experiment down.
Source: The Economist, 01/08/2013
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