The Uruguayan drug experiment
New rules in Uruguay create a legal marijuana market
So, Uruguay has adopted a new law that legalises the growing and selling of marijuana. The state is taking the business in its own hands. A bold plan which, if it works well, might turn out to be a step in the right direction, and an example for others to follow.
Actually Uruguay is doing something that sounds logical. The state will control both the marijuana production and sales. The drug will be sold in the drug stores across the country, the customers will be registered, and prices will be fixed centrally at rates that are around the normal level for that particular market. Not a single country in the world has gone that far until now in the legalisation of drugs.
This is a step by the Uruguayan hippie president Mujica that the whole world could benefit from. Because there is no doubt that the war on drugs has been lost a long time ago. And that is a war that has claimed thousands of lives, especially in Latin America; a war that paralyses entire regions and costs billions. The annual turnover from the drug trade currently amounts to roughly 320 billion dollars worldwide. So when the situation deteriorates on a particular market and it loses its attractiveness from their standpoint, the dealers would simply seek for new battlefields.
And so, the drug dealers have found a nice place in Uruguay, which has been soaked with the cheap "Paco" drug for years, a residue product of the cocaine production. The presence of the dealers stimulates the local gangs, who usually deal with more conventional things like prostitution and petty crime. Now the new law will mainly affect those groups, snatching the bulk of the trade away from their hands.
Of course there is no experiment without its risks, and the Uruguayan one makes no exception. No one knows for sure whether the drug cartels would not hit with lower prices and beat down the official rates. Furthermore, there is a danger that the traders would simply shift to harder drugs. The government wants to prevent such a development through extensive health consultations which it is planning to finance from the revenue from the legal marijuana trade, and thus close the cycle.
In turn, the UN accuses Uruguay of violating the existing international agreements and the Convention on Narcotic Drugs. But so far neither these agreements nor any conventions have managed to help in the fight against organised crime and the black market. So if the Uruguayan experiment could succeed if it manages to create greater capacities for fighting organised crime, instead of putting hordes of minor criminals behind bars just for having used small amounts of recreational drugs.
Of course all of this does not mean that the drug problem should be overlooked - marijuana consumption is dangerous for the health of young people. But past experience seems to suggest that bans and prosecution might not be the best solution of the crime problem, and Uruguay has learned this lesson and has decided to try a different approach.
By the way, this is the second big experiment by president Mujica, both aimed at expanding personal freedoms. The first one was when he allowed same-sex marriage in an otherwise staunchly Catholic country. Now his second major project is no less revolutionary. And if if fails, that could be the end of Mujica as a politician. But he is a humble man, he would cope somehow. On the other hand, if the experiment does succeed, it could be the first step towards changing the world to the better, even if by a tiny bit. Meanwhile, Mujica has already been proposed for a Nobel Peace Prize.
So, Uruguay has adopted a new law that legalises the growing and selling of marijuana. The state is taking the business in its own hands. A bold plan which, if it works well, might turn out to be a step in the right direction, and an example for others to follow.
Actually Uruguay is doing something that sounds logical. The state will control both the marijuana production and sales. The drug will be sold in the drug stores across the country, the customers will be registered, and prices will be fixed centrally at rates that are around the normal level for that particular market. Not a single country in the world has gone that far until now in the legalisation of drugs.
This is a step by the Uruguayan hippie president Mujica that the whole world could benefit from. Because there is no doubt that the war on drugs has been lost a long time ago. And that is a war that has claimed thousands of lives, especially in Latin America; a war that paralyses entire regions and costs billions. The annual turnover from the drug trade currently amounts to roughly 320 billion dollars worldwide. So when the situation deteriorates on a particular market and it loses its attractiveness from their standpoint, the dealers would simply seek for new battlefields.
And so, the drug dealers have found a nice place in Uruguay, which has been soaked with the cheap "Paco" drug for years, a residue product of the cocaine production. The presence of the dealers stimulates the local gangs, who usually deal with more conventional things like prostitution and petty crime. Now the new law will mainly affect those groups, snatching the bulk of the trade away from their hands.
Of course there is no experiment without its risks, and the Uruguayan one makes no exception. No one knows for sure whether the drug cartels would not hit with lower prices and beat down the official rates. Furthermore, there is a danger that the traders would simply shift to harder drugs. The government wants to prevent such a development through extensive health consultations which it is planning to finance from the revenue from the legal marijuana trade, and thus close the cycle.
In turn, the UN accuses Uruguay of violating the existing international agreements and the Convention on Narcotic Drugs. But so far neither these agreements nor any conventions have managed to help in the fight against organised crime and the black market. So if the Uruguayan experiment could succeed if it manages to create greater capacities for fighting organised crime, instead of putting hordes of minor criminals behind bars just for having used small amounts of recreational drugs.
Of course all of this does not mean that the drug problem should be overlooked - marijuana consumption is dangerous for the health of young people. But past experience seems to suggest that bans and prosecution might not be the best solution of the crime problem, and Uruguay has learned this lesson and has decided to try a different approach.
By the way, this is the second big experiment by president Mujica, both aimed at expanding personal freedoms. The first one was when he allowed same-sex marriage in an otherwise staunchly Catholic country. Now his second major project is no less revolutionary. And if if fails, that could be the end of Mujica as a politician. But he is a humble man, he would cope somehow. On the other hand, if the experiment does succeed, it could be the first step towards changing the world to the better, even if by a tiny bit. Meanwhile, Mujica has already been proposed for a Nobel Peace Prize.