Uruguay has moved a step closer to becoming the first country in the world to create a legal marijuana industry in an attempt to fight organised crime.
The lower house of congress voted 50-46 for the measure after 13 hours of passionate debate. The plan now goes to the senate, where passage is expected to license and regulate the production, distribution and sale of marijuana for adults.
Ruling coalition MPs argued that it was worth trying because the global war on drugs had been a costly and bloody failure. But critics warn that marijuana is a gateway drug and that fostering the market is playing with fire.
Supporters hope to eliminate a legal contradiction in Uruguay, where it is permitted to consume pot but against the law to sell, buy, produce or possess even one marijuana plant.
The vote in the house, where the ruling Broad Front coalition had a 50-49 majority, was seen as the best chance for opponents to block the law. It next goes to the senate, where the government has a more comfortable majority.
Source: Irish Independent, 01/08/2013
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