Uruguay: 16,000 registered buyers 5 months after cannabis legalization

Five months after making cannabis available in pharmacies, Uruguay has more than 16,000 registered buyers authorized to purchase cannabis through this channel. There were 5,000 in July.

Uruguayans can also grow their own plants or become members of one of the 70 cannabis clubs registered with the Uruguayan Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis.

Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize cannabis, in 2013, primarily to curb cannabis smuggling and ensure that consumers receive a safe product.

The country faces many obstacles, including banks’ refusal to accept payments from the sale of a product prohibited by international conventions. Uruguay then authorized stores—in addition to pharmacies—to sell cannabis and switched to a cash-only payment system.

Eleven provinces in the country still do not sell cannabis, even though the government has announced its intention to open cannabis kiosks there.

When sales begin at pharmacies, cannabis containing 2% of THC was available. The latest harvest yielded cannabis with a THC content of 9%. And despite the legalization of cannabis in the country, there is no medical cannabis program. Tourists are also barred from purchasing cannabis, although in practice, some clubs do accept «foreigners.».

The next country to draw attention to the issue of cannabis will be Canada, which is expected to legalize recreational cannabis in July 2018.