http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23432762
http://cltv.com/2013/08/01/gov-quinn-signs-bill-legalizing-medical-marijuana/#axzz2ak7UsfG6
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323681904578640642774257164.html?mod=e2fb
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1 August 2013 Last updated at 05:58 ET
Those supporting the bill want it passed quickly
President Jose Mujica says he has never tried marijuana but believes it should be legalised
Uruguay MPs back marijuana legalisation bill
Those supporting the bill want it passed quickly
Members of Uruguay's House of Representatives have passed a bill to legalise marijuana.
If it goes on to be approved by the Senate, Uruguay will become the first country to regulate the production, distribution and sale of marijuana.
The measure is backed by the government of President Jose Mujica, who says it will remove profits from drug dealers and divert users from harder drugs.
Under the bill, only the government would be allowed to sell marijuana.
The state would assume "the control and regulation of the importation, exportation, plantation, cultivation, the harvest, the production, the acquisition, the storage, the commercialisation and the distribution of cannabis and its by-products".
Buyers would have to be registered on a database and be over the age of 18. They would be able to buy up to 40g (1.4oz) per month in specially licensed pharmacies or grow up to six plants at home.
Foreigners would be excluded from the measure.
Political tussle
The bill was approved by 50 of the 96 MPs present in the lower house following a fierce 13-hour debate in the capital, Montevideo.
The supporters of the measure argued that the fight against drugs and drug trafficking had failed, and the country needed "new alternatives".
"The regulation is not to promote consumption; consumption already exists," said Sebastian Sabini of the governing centre-left Frente Amplio (Broad Front) coalition, which has a majority of one in the lower house.
Marijuana use has reportedly doubled in Uruguay over the past year. An estimated 22 tonnes of marijuana are being sold in the country annually, according to Uruguay's National Drugs Committee.
But Gerardo Amarilla of the opposition National Party said the government was "playing with fire" given the health risks he said were linked to marijuana use.
All eyes were on Dario Perez, a member of the governing coalition but a strong opponent of the bill, whose vote could have scuppered the bill.
During his 20-minute speech, Mr Perez reiterated his belief that the issue should be put to a referendum and not have been "imposed" by the government.
But to applause by supporters of the bill in the public gallery, he finally concluded that as long as he was a member of the coalition, he would vote with it, despite his personal misgivings.
The bill is now expected to be approved by the Senate, where the left-wing government has a bigger majority.
But opposition politicians said that even if the law made it through the senate, they would launch a petition to have it overturned.
A survey carried out before the vote by polling organisation Cifra suggested 63% of Uruguayans opposed the bill.
Papal opposition
The progress of the bill is being watched closely across the region, says BBC Mundo correspondent in the region Ignacio de los Reyes.
President Jose Mujica says he has never tried marijuana but believes it should be legalised
For decades, drug trafficking has caused tens of thousands of deaths throughout Latin America.
Uruguay may have not experienced the bloodshed caused by drug trafficking, but the proposal could be seen as a test for violence-torn nations looking for an end to their drug wars, our correspondent adds.
The vote also comes just days after Pope Francis criticised drug legalisation plans during a visit to neighbouring Brazil.
The pontiff said it was "necessary to tackle the problems which are at the root of drug abuse, promoting more justice, educating the youth with the values that live in society, standing by those who face hardship and giving them hope for the future".
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24 July 2013 Last updated at 20:25 ET
Thousands of people packed into the basilica to hear the Pope celebrate Mass
Continue reading the main story
Pope Francis attacks drug legalisation in Latin America
Pope Francis has criticised drug legalisation plans in Latin America during the inauguration of a clinic for drug addicts in Rio de Janeiro.
The roots of drug abuse should be tackled, he said on the third day of his visit to Brazil.
Uruguay is close to allowing the legal sale of marijuana, with other countries pondering similar liberalisation.
Earlier, the Argentine-born pontiff celebrated the first Mass of his trip, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida.
He warned tens of thousands of faithful against the "passing idols" of money, power and pleasure.
After the visit to Aparecida, in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, the pope flew back to Rio de Janeiro.
At the inauguration of a drug rehabilitation clinic at the Sao Francisco hospital, he hugged former addicts and heard their stories.
'Dealers of death'
"It is necessary to tackle the problems which are at the root of drug abuse, promoting more justice, educating the youth with the values that live in society, standing by those who face hardship and giving them hope for the future," he said.
Pope Francis also warned against plans to legalise drugs in Latin America and condemned drug-traffickers.
"How many dealers of death there are that follow the logic of power and money at any cost! The scourge of drug-trafficking, that favours violence and sows the seeds of suffering and death, requires of society as a whole an act of courage," he said.
Leaders in Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and others have spoken for softer stances on drugs policy.
In Uruguay, a project decriminalising marijuana sale is set to be voted in Congress next week.
President Jose Mujica says its main goal is combating drug trafficking.
On Monday the Pope faced chaotic scenes as he arrived in Rio de Janeiro.
He is in Brazil to attend the Roman Catholic World Youth Day festival. It is his first trip abroad since becoming head of the Catholic Church in March.
The highlight of the five-day festival will be a prayer service on Rio's iconic Copacabana Beach on Thursday.
Explosive device
The pontiff's visit is taking place under tight security, after weeks of anti-government protests.
He travelled to the shrine in Aparecida by plane and helicopter.
Thousands of pilgrims arrived in the rural town ahead of Wednesday's Mass, which took place at the basilica holding the shrine.
"It is true that nowadays, to some extent, everyone, including our young people, feels attracted by the many idols which take the place of God and appear to offer hope - money, success, power, pleasure," the pontiff said during the service.
Continue reading the main storyThousands of people packed into the basilica to hear the Pope celebrate Mass
Twelve thousand people were estimated to have been inside the basilica, the BBC's Julia Carneiro reports.
Up to 200,000 more were outside watching the service on big screens, our correspondent adds.
After his Mass, the Pope appeared on a balcony to greet the crowds.
A homemade explosive device was discovered at the shrine on Sunday, but authorities said it was "of low power" and not near the area where the Pope and pilgrims will visit.
The Vatican later insisted that the discovery was no cause for concern.
On Tuesday, around 400,000 Roman Catholics joined a ceremony on Copacabana Beach to mark the opening of World Youth Day.
There was transport chaos shortly before the event when the Rio metro system was brought to a standstill for two hours by a power cut.
Crowds of people hoping to attend the Mass were left stranded, while others crammed onto buses and taxis heading to the beach.
Travel chaos also ensued on Monday when the pontiff's car became stuck in one of Rio's infamous traffic jams, after his driver reportedly took the wrong turn and missed lanes that had been cleared by the security services.
Correspondents said Brazil was reviewing security around the pontiff following the incident.
The Pope, who is from neighbouring Argentina, was officially welcomed at the state governor's palace by Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff on Monday.
However police later fired tear gas to disperse people who were demonstrating outside. They were protesting against the government and also against the cost of the papal visit.
More than a million young Catholics are expected to gather in Rio for World Youth Day, which takes place every two years and is a celebration of the Catholic faith.
Some 30,000 army and police are on duty throughout his visit.
Pope Francis
Analysis
Vast crowd for Brazil Mass
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Local News
Gov. Quinn signs bill legalizing medical marijuana
- Find A Doctor Near YouPainkiller Dependence Treatment in the Privacy of a Doctor's OfficeTurnToHelp.com
Governor Quinn signed a bill today, legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes in Illinois.
Under the new law, a person could be prescribed no more than two-and-a-half ounces of marijuana over two weeks.
The prescribing doctor must also have a prior medical relationship with the patient.
A doctor must find that the patient has one of a few dozen serious or chronic conditions for the marijuana to be prescribed.
The new law would take effect January 1.
Read more: http://wgntv.com/2013/08/01/gov-quinn-signs-bill-legalizing-medical-marijuana/#ixzz2ak7p4X9A
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Uruguay Moves Closer to Legalizing Pot
Lower House Clears the First Law in the Americas Fully Legalizing Marijuana; Senate Approval Is Expected
MORE IN LATIN AMERICA »
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay—Uruguay moved closer to becoming the first country in the Americas to fully legalize marijuana on Wednesday, after the lower house voted to regulate the market for pot with a view to deprive drug traffickers of a key source of revenue.
The bill was approved with 50 of the 96 lawmakers present voting in favor late Wednesday after more than 12 hours of debate. The Senate, in which the ruling Frente Amplio leftist coalition has a majority, is expected to approve the measure in August.
While possession of small amounts of pot is legal in Colombia and tolerated in Mexico, Uruguay's President José Mujica is seeking to bring the marijuana industry out of the shadows. If his bill becomes law, the Uruguayan state would regulate the production, distribution and sale of marijuana for recreational, industrial and medicinal uses.
"If Uruguay passes this bill into law it would be revolutionary," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director at the Drug Policy Alliance, a U.S.-based think tank. "It would be the first national government in the world to regulate cannabis from wholesale production to the end consumer."
The legalization of pot in Uruguay might embolden other Latin American governments to consider similar measures, he added. Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs in 2001, but doesn't regulate the entire market like Uruguay aims to do with pot.
Wednesday's vote marks another legislative victory for Mr. Mujica and his progressive social agenda. More than halfway into his five-year term, his coalition has legalized abortion and same-sex marriage.
The bill's approval was far from assured amid resistance within the Frente Amplio. At least one public opinion poll showed low support. And some 63% of Uruguayans oppose the pot bill, according to a survey published this week by pollster Cifra.
Sen. Jorge Larrañaga, a former presidential candidate for the center right Partido Nacional opposition party, said in a recent opinion column that the pot bill would make Uruguayans guinea pigs for untested social legislation and facilitate drug trafficking.
The legalization initiative comes amid a growing policy debate among Latin American leaders about how to address the violence and corruption associated with the illegal drug trade.
Until now, the so-called war on drugs promoted by the U.S. has emphasized law enforcement to suppress drug production and trafficking across the region.
Critics say that policy has been accompanied by violence in countries where the profitable drugs trade has given rise to powerful criminal gangs. Mexico has seen about 70,000 drug-related killings since the government began a crackdown on cartels, while Colombia's almost 50-year-old armed conflict has been fueled in part by the sale of illicit drugs. In a move that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, the Organization of American States included the legalization of cannabis among four alternative drug policies in a recent report.
Even in the U.S., where the Obama administration has voiced its commitment to the current set of antidrug policies, marijuana legalization is gaining ground. In the past year, the states of Washington and Colorado legalized the growing, processing and retail sale of pot for recreational use.
The U.S. State Department declined to comment about Uruguay's pot legislation.
Uruguayan officials have played down the international importance of the bill, which they say is tailored to the needs of a farming country of 3.3 million people who are used to a government presence in their daily lives through a host of social programs and state-run companies.
"Other countries that have different realities, cultures and notions about the state should find their own path," said Julio Calzada, who heads the National Drugs Secretariat, which coordinates the government´s drug policies.
Sebastian Sabini, the Frente Amplio legislator who heads the lower house drugs committee, said the bill would allow the government to focus resources on more harmful drugs like crack cocaine. The Mujica administration says it hopes the measure will allow legal growers to displace criminals from a market that government estimates put at about 22 tons of marijuana a year worth some $40 million. The government believes that most of that money goes into the hands of drug traffickers selling pot from Paraguay and Brazil.
"We aren't promoting consumption," Mr. Sabini told reporters on Wednesday. "The purpose of this bill isn't tax collection."
Adults would be allowed to grow up to 480 grams (1.06 pounds) a year of marijuana for personal use, while marijuana clubs of up to 45 people could grow as many as 99 plants. The government would also grant permits for limited commercial production to satisfy the domestic market and license pharmacies to sell pot. People convicted of breaking these laws could face fines of as much as $61,000 and up to 10 years in prison.
By eliminating the risk premium criminals charge for illegal pot, Mr. Calzada of the National Drugs Secretariat says legal producers will be competitive in terms of prices, though he recognized that contraband will continue to exist. He pointed to the cigarette market, in which smuggling accounts for just under 10%.
"What we are proposing is to dispute the 100% of the market that is today in the hands of criminal organizations," he said. "If I end up with 80% or 90% I practically eliminate the black market. That is the medium-term objective."
Juan Vaz, a spokesman for Aecu, an organization that promotes the home growing of marijuana, doesn't think regulation will be a problem for growers. He said consumers will benefit from access to legal, high-quality pot grown in Uruguay.
"Those substances that traditionally have arrived from Paraguay don't deserve to be called marijuana," Mr. Vaz added.
—Nicholas Casey contributed to this article
Write to Ken Parks at Ken.Parks@dowjones.com
A version of this article appeared August 1, 2013, on page A9 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Uruguay Moves Toward Legalizing Pot.
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