Uruguay will always hold the distinct title of being the first nation on the planet to pass a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure. Since Uruguay passed its measure in 2013, three other nations have also passed measures, with Malta and Luxembourg having more restrictive models and Canada having a less restrictive model.
Canada’s legalization model allows all adults, regardless of residency status, to make legal purchases from regulated outlets, whereas Uruguay limits legal sales to adult residents only. Still, Uruguay’s cannabis policy modernization effort has yielded tremendous insight.
Daniel Radio, Secretary General of Uruguay’s National Drug Authority, recently spoke about his nation’s pursuits at an academic forum organized by the Drug Authority titled “IV Academic Forum: The regulation of cannabis in Uruguay and the region: progress and challenges.”
Kraut Invest translated the Secretary’s speech from Spanish to English, a transcript of which can be found on their website. Secretary Radio describes cannabis use as “innate to humanity” and suggests that prohibition policies are to blame for issues of the past, not the substance itself.
Read more at internationalcbc.com