ON
THE outskirts of Libertad, a small town an hour’s drive from Montevideo, barbed
wire and guard towers surround a ten-hectare plot of state-owned land. Inside,
greenhouses shelter thousands of marijuana plants. These belong to ICC and
Simbiosys, the two firms licensed by Uruguay’s government to grow cannabis for
recreational use. Uruguayans will soon be able to sample their product. Since
May 2nd they have been able to register at the post office as prospective customers
for the corporate weed, which will be sold through pharmacies from July.
That
will be the last and most important stage of a long process. In 2013 the senate
voted to legalise marijuana and regulate its production and sale, making
Uruguay the first country to do so. (Canada proposed a bill to legalise
cannabis for recreational use on April 13th.) Uruguay’s goal is to stamp out
the black market, controlled mainly by Paraguayan smugglers, without
encouraging more consumption. Registered Uruguayans (but not visitors) will be
able to get the drug in one of three ways. They can grow up to six plants at
home; join a club, where 45 members can cultivate as many as 99 plants; or buy
it in pharmacies. All consumers are restricted to 40g (1.4 ounces) a month, enough
to roll a joint or two a day. About 10% of adults smoke at least once a year.
More
than 6,600 people have already registered to grow cannabis at home; 51 clubs
have opened. But Uruguayan officials expect pharmacies to be the biggest
retailers, and are counting on them to drive illegal dealers out of business.
They will start out selling weed in 5g packets, with the concentration of THC,
the active ingredient, capped at 15%. With a price of $1.30 a gram,
store-bought marijuana will be cheaper than what is available on the street.
The quality will be better, says Milton Romani, who oversaw the law’s
implementation until last July. Street cannabis can contain 52 toxins;
pharmacies will sell purer weed. The government sought advice on potency from
regular smokers. “They are the ones who know about this stuff,” laughs Mr
Romani.
Strait-laced
pharmacists, used to selling remedies for aching joints, are nervous about
supplying the makings of joints. “They would prefer not to stock a recreational
drug,” says Alejandro Antalich, vice-president of the Centre for Uruguayan
Pharmacies, a trade association. “It’s a conscientious objection.” Some fear
being dragged into competition with drug gangs. So far, just 30 of the
country’s 1,000 pharmacies have signed up. The interior ministry is installing
alarms connected to police stations to reassure them.
Cannabis
clubs can grow a wider variety of plants than pharmacies are allowed to sell,
with no limits on THC. They see themselves as catering to aficionados. “It’s
the equivalent of comparing a bottle of wine with a box of wine,” says Marco
Algorta, a grower at the 420 Cannabis Club in Montevideo. “The clubs sell
excellent wine.” His worry is that 99 plants are not enough to supply members
with their full entitlement. He wants permission to grow more.
Even
then, clubs and home growers will cater to a niche market. The pharmacies’
business will build slowly. The 30 outlets that have signed up cover much of
the country. But their corporate suppliers are allowed to grow just four tonnes
a year. That is 15% of what Uruguayans smoke. If the country is to drive
pushers off the streets, pharmacies will have to sell a lot more weed alongside
the dental floss.
