Uruguay effectively combats illegal cannabis of foreign origin

Eleven years after the adoption of cannabis legalization, Uruguay's National Drug Office presents a report on its use of alcohol, cocaine and other drugs.

The report shows a very sharp drop in the consumption of cannabis from the illegal foreign market, the very low-quality «prensado» cannabis» because it is imported from Paraguay in the form of pressed bricks. In ten years, its consumption has fallen from 58.2 % to 6.7 % of the total cannabis consumed in Uruguay.

Of all consumers, 37% say they access cannabis via the regulated market, which is limited to a limited choice of pharmacy varieties or Cannabis Clubs, representing an increase of 10% over the previous measurement. 29.7% still claim to be supplied by the national black market, the remainder being split between drug trafficking and 13.4% not knowing its origin.

The number of people with problematic cannabis use represents 2% of the population surveyed, according to WHO criteria (ICD-10), or around 32,000 people. This figure has remained stable since 2011, adds the report, which puts it in 2024 at 16.9% of consumers versus 16.7% in 2011.

The average age of cannabis initiation has risen from 18.9 in 2011 to 20.1 in 2024.

Cannabis consumption has been rising since 2001, but has been falling since 2018, both in terms of consumption in the last 12 months and in the last 30 days. More people have been testing cannabis since legalization, but fewer have been using it regularly since 2018.

Generally speaking, one in three people aged 15 to 65 say they have used cannabis at some point in their lives.

Regular consumption by men doubles that of women. In Montevideo, it is twice as high as in the rest of the country.