Wednesday, December 11, 2013
History was made yesterday as Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize the production and sale of Marijuana. After 12 hours of debate, with a pass of 16 votes to 13, the government-sponsored bill was approved and Uruguayans are now allowed to cultivate up to six plants per household or join those licensed to grow up to 99 plants. Pharmacies will carry marijuana, supplied by private firms, but are only allowed to sell to Uruguayan citizens. Uruguay's reasoning behind the historic bill is that with the new law in place, police can better focus on stopping violent crimes as well as stopping the smuggling of harder drugs. Uruguayan Senator Roberto Conde was quoted saying that "it was an unavoidable response to reality, given that the war against drugs had failed." Other Latin and South American governments such as Guatemala and Colombia are now considering following Uruguay's decision in hopes to stop battling criminal gangs who are profiting from exporting drugs.
The bill is hardly without opposition however. The UN is against Uruguay's decision and says it violates international law. Although I highly disagree with the statement, the INCB, the International Narcotics Control Board, an independent, quasi-judicial expert body for the implementation of the UN drug conventions, previously 'warned that the move would endanger young people and "contribute to the earlier onset of addiction". The INCB chief Raymond Yans claimed the government's reasoning for passing the bill to rely on "rather precarious and unsubstantiated assumptions". So what will be the future outcome for this Uruguay law? Will the INCB or UN intervene? Will the legalization of production and consumption of marijuana for Uruguayan citizens 18 and up help to stop drug fans, smuggling, and violent crimes? What's your view on this bill that marks the first ever country to fully legalize bud?
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This could be a good source of tax revenue for Uruguay, and being that Marijuana has no addictive qualities I would stand in opposition to the theory that it will cause higher addiction in young people, however like alcohol and tobacco there will need to be sufficient unbiased education within Uruguay. I truly believe that Uruguay could become the model for how to properly legalize marijuana as a beneficial tool for the economy.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Uruguay made the correct decision in legalizing marijuana. There are other drugs that are stronger and more dangerous to the community and the Latin American region in general. By legalizing marijuana the Uruguayan law enforcement will be able to conserve its resources, time and personnel for more pressing drug-related criminal activity. Not only will this bill allow for easier distinction between criminals and social smokers, but it will bring in revenue once it is taxed, revenue that can be put to beneficial social programs or development.
ReplyDeleteI think this could go both ways. As we observe Uruguay in the time to come, I think that we will learn a lot about the effects of legalizing marijuana on a national level. I think a lot of countries could learn something from Uruguay and in my opinion help focus police and government resources on more detrimental causes, such as harder drugs and cartels.
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ReplyDeleteI don't believe the UN has any basis for intervention unless the smuggling of marijuana from Uruguay to other countries becomes a major problem. I do believe that the new law will definitely reduce smuggling of marijuana into Uruguay. I do believe they are taking the right steps though. Switzerland also has experience in decriminalization of drugs and they noticed reduced drug related crime. The war on drugs has only made the smuggling business increasingly lucrative. Legalization, decriminalization, and the provision of addiction treatment have all shown positive effects on the decrease of illegal and dangerous drug activity as well as the demand for drugs. I predict Uruguay will soon see positive results with their new legislation.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting move by Uruguay that brings up several topics for debate. First is the statement that, "decriminalization has several reduced the amount of drug related crimes." If drugs are decriminalized then there CAN'T be any drug related crimes, so obviously there is a reduction. Second, as stated by Austin above, unless the drug trade from Uruguay spreads into neighboring states then there isn't any basis for the UN to intervene. Lastly, the statement, "it was the inevitable response to a failure on the war on drugs" which is logical in all respects. The only difference in any other state is that most others havn't given up (the U.S.) even though it has been a complete and total failure.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fitting post seeing as we are in the first state to legalize marijuana in the United States and the date for the implementation of these policies is set for January 1st. Undoubtedly, this move would help bolster tax revenues and I think they should implement a vice tax similar to alcohol and tobacco. It is highly unlikely that the UN or any other international organization will do anything to stop their newly passed law as it poses no immediate threat to the international community, unlike the possibility of a federal response to Colorado's newly passed state law. I also agree with Tontonster and Senator Conde that the war on drugs has failed and this is a rational response to undermine criminals who rely on the plant for profit. Lastly, though this is neither here nor there, if there is any drug that acts as a "gateway" to harder substances and addictions then that drug would clearly be alcohol, although I am a beer connoisseur of sorts myself.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting move for a country to partake in. I think it could be very beneficial for the country in terms of tax and making profit off of it as is the potential for the country to use it as a big export. It will be interesting to see how the country responds to this and whether it will end up being beneficial or not
ReplyDeleteWell the big issue here is they are now in violation of the UN narcotics treaty which they signed. But again now so is the US with legalization in Washington and here in Colorado. I expect to see more legalization's across the globe especially now after that the US, the biggest proponent of the international drug war, has seen initiatives of direct democracy legalizing the substances within its own border. Slippery slope argument, the legalization movement is finally picking up speed. The US has also not seen the last of Marijuana legislation. Soon marijuana will be on the same socially acceptable level as alcohol.
ReplyDeleteThis is a super interesting post, and a really interesting move on the part Uruguay. I feel like it is silly to consider this a violation of a narcotics treaty when marijuana is such a mild drug, more closely related to cigarettes or alcohol (which are legal and not against a drug treaty) than to meth or heroine. While I also believe that the UN will not go through with doing anything to stop Uruguay's new law, I think it is interesting that they are so up in arms about this. I also expect we will be seeing more legalization across our own country and the world in the near future
ReplyDeleteThe UN and ICBN aren't going to do a thing in my opinion, Uruguay is still its own sovereign country and does anyone really think the UN would actually have the gall to invade a stable country? One that other than this new legislation isn't breaking any other national laws, no they're not, has anything come of Syria? As we've discussed in class sanctions don't really work, as they're almost impossible to ensure every other foreign country will comply. I really don't think they're going to catch enough international criticisms for many countries to feel the incentive to do so. Besides if the stuff is still illegal in other countries its going to have to be smuggled in, sort of diminishing the effective use of sanctions.
ReplyDeleteHowever I'm not sure if legalizing drugs in Latin America is the answer to solving the war on drugs. Smugglers as I said will still exist. There will still be criminals in Europe and the United States that will still continue to import illegal narcotics. Therefore there will still be international criminal organizations operating, now possibly under a legal pretense for much of their operation. I'll be interested to see how this plays out in a couple of years.
This post is really interesting because this time, an entire country has legalized marijuana (instead of just states like we're kinda used to). I personally don't know if the UN will take any action against Uruguay in passing this bill, but I doubt it. I think it will be more interesting and a better learning experience to see where this goes and how it affects the country as a whole. Seeing as the legalization of marijuana is becoming some kind of trend, it will probably happen in other countries as well. I think it will be really interesting to see how this develops and how/if it will affect the international community.
ReplyDeleteAs stated before, this could potentially be a great way to help the Uruguayan economy. If this goes into effect, Uruguay could be seen and used by the rest of the world as the "guinea pig" for the complete legalization and taxation for marijuana. I would be deeply curious to see how this would not only effect their economy and government, but also curious to see how the rest of the world will view it and how many other nations will follow in-suite.
ReplyDeleteI think, while it will obviously take time, this will begin to become more common in the coming years across the world. I went to a speech for my Latin America class last year given by a political advisor on the subject of drug trade, and his main point by the end was that if a country cannot decrease their demand for a certain drug, prohibition of that substance needs to, and inevitably will, end. As more countries recognize this and realize the monetary benefits as well, I think we will see an increase in legalization globally. Whether that is a positive or negative thing, we'll find out.
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