The movement to legalize marijuana just took a big step forward in Uruguay. The second smallest country in South America unveiled plans to open the world's first state owned and operated weed dispensaries later this year, The Guardian's Alex Marshall reports.
Two cannabis producers have been commissioned to grow product, which will go on sale in pharmacies starting this summer. Residents — medicinal patients and recreational tokers, alike — will be able to buy up to 40 grams of pot a month for about $1 per gram.
But regulation comes with a catch. Buyers must enroll in a government register and provide a thumbprint to prove their identity, according to The Guardian.
Uruguay effectively legalized the drug back in December 2013 under the administration of former president José Mujica. People over the age of 18 could grow marijuana at home or smoke at a cannabis club, though the plant wasn't yet sold in stores.
The legislation was intended to squash cartels who were importing weed from Paraguay.
"If we legalize it, we think that we will spoil the market (for drug traffickers) because we are going to sell it for cheaper than it is sold on the black market," Mujica told CNN in an interview in 2012. "And we are going to have people identified."
The idea of a government registry is a cause for concern for some cannabis activists. They worry future governments may leverage this user database for sinister purposes.
Still, regulation brings many benefits. Marijuana users will now have access to product that is grown safely and responsibly. It also enables the government to keep the cost down by stripping criminal organizations of their control.
By instituting an age restriction, the policy may even curb marijuana use among young people. When the Uruguay government raised the legal age to buy tobacco in 2005, the smoking rate among young people dropped from 32% to 12%.
Roughly 100 pharmacies in Uruguay will begin stocking bud this July.
