Uruguay Braced to Become First Country to Legalize Marijuana

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“Nearly half of all consumers of cocaine and opiates in the world live in our region, as well as a quarter of those who smoke marijuana,” declared Insulza, “this consumption has created an illegal business that threatens the integrity of our institutions… The number of deaths caused by drug consumption seem minimal when compared with the deaths caused by drug-related criminal activity.“

Insulza praised the efforts of the government of Uruguay: “I would like to publicly recognize the responsible and serious manner in which the Uruguayan State and civil society are addressing the project presented by the government on the production, sale and use of marijuana in this country.” And concluded: “Uruguay's experience is being watched with great attention by the rest of the hemisphere and we are convinced that whatever the outcome of this process, we can all draw important lessons from it.”

President Mujica, 78, a former guerrilla during the brutal 1970s military dictatorship, has steered Uruguay toward socially liberal policies. His government enacted a groundbreaking abortion rights law and legalized same-sex marriage. Mujica is also an outspoken environmentalist, actively positioning his country as a center for renewable energy.

The marijuana bill has been under consideration for more than a year, with President Mujica urging legislators last year to postpone voting on it after polls showed a majority of Uruguayans were opposed. Public opinion remains strongly opposed to marijuana legalization despite a year-long education and information campaign by Mujica’s administration. Opposition politicians vowed to launch a petition to have the law overturned even if the law made it through the senate.

In February 2001, Uruguayan president Jorge Batlle was the first head of state to advocate legalization of all drugs to end narco-violence. Politics still being politics, even in ultra-democratic Uruguay, his party, the Colorado party, now in the opposition, nonetheless opposed the marijuana legalization bill.

Uruguay is a tiny country of 3.3 million inhabitants located on the Atlantic coast on the southern border of Brazil and separated from Argentina by the estuary of the Río de la Plata. It ranked 20th in  Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, tying with Chile just below the United States. With its high degree of accountability, its strong state presence and stable government, it is an ideal place to experiment with marijuana legalization.