There is broad consensus in Uruguay to allow the sale of recreational cannabis to tourists. With a project on the tables of Parliament, leaders and those responsible in this field are debating the necessary conditions to achieve an amendment to the provisions of Law No. 19.172, passed in 2013.
In most countries that have regulated cannabis use, the choice has been made to start with medicinal cannabis first, and then, once this aspect has been overcome, to try to reach recreational use. However, the smallest Spanish-speaking country in South America decided to go the opposite way.
According to Daniel Radío, secretary-general of the National Drugs Agency, the Uruguayan intention was “so groundbreaking” that “the economic perspective that the plant offers in the world was not taken into account and many reassurances were obtained”, such as the need to register to consume: “People can drink alcohol until they fall into a coma and they don’t even have to say their name, but to smoke a joint you even have to give their ID number.”
“There is an obsession with protecting people’s consumption and I believe that consumption should not be protected,” Radío said.
In this sense, there are various control variables in the Uruguayan legal framework, such as the need to be registered to use marijuana and the restrictions on the number of members per club, the grams produced per member and the plants.
According to Radío, another of those “safeguards” put in place when the law was discussed was the refusal to allow sales to tourists “because some people saw the risk of Uruguay turning into The Walking Dead and zombies walking around stoned.”
THE NEW PROJECT: CANNABIS FOR TOURISTS
In Uruguay, the main question is who will be the producers and distributors of the cannabis that tourists would have access to if this possibility were allowed.
A new draft law, tabled by frenteamplista MP Eduardo Antonini, is currently under consideration, which would allow for the sale of cannabis to foreigners.
The initiative was born with the intention of “fighting an injustice”: “Uruguayan citizens and resident foreigners have the right to engage in an activity that tourists can only observe,” Antonini explained, adding: “Many get off cruise ships because they think they can buy from pharmacies and when that is not possible they go to the black market.”
Despite the existing consensus on approval, the main discussion revolves around who will be the producers and distributors of the cannabis that tourists would have access to should the law change. The initiative presented by Antonini allows the same access opportunities as for Uruguayans, except through self-cultivation. In other words, tourists could purchase cannabis from both pharmacies and cannabis clubs.
“The idea is that clubs can sell time-limited memberships so that tourists have access to recreational cannabis. They can also have more members and a larger number of establishments than they are currently allowed to have,” the MP said.
According to the law, cannabis clubs are non-profit associations that can have between 15 and 45 members, as long as they are natural persons who are of legal age and have Uruguayan citizenship – or otherwise reside in the country.
A maximum of 99 plants can be cultivated in each company and the annual production per member must not exceed 480 grams. According to the latest data on the IRCCA website, as of October this year there were 263 accredited clubs and 7,166 members.
However, the draft law offers another peculiarity related to the clubs: “Perhaps the most striking aspect of the initiative is that it allows certain approved tourism establishments to associate with a club to offer these temporary memberships,” explained Antonini.
According to a survey by the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA), around 100,000 foreigners enter the country every year to consume legal cannabis, among other things. “I think there are a few more and they can have a big impact on the economy,” explained the frenteamplista MP.
The National Drug Enforcement Agency and the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis see the possibility of tourism establishments merging with cannabis clubs to sell marijuana to tourists as difficult.
THE VISION OF TEH NATIONAL DRUGS AGENCY AND THE INSTITUTE FOR THE REGULATION AND CONTROL OF CANNABIS
Despite the willingness to find a consensus, the JND and the IRCCA see the possibility for tourism establishments to join the cannabis clubs as difficult. “We had a slightly different idea, which is that tourists can just shop at pharmacies because otherwise part of the idea of being a member of a club would be distorted: not having customers. If we want to change this criterion, we have to rethink the original idea, which was about people coming together for a common activity and not for a purchase,” says Radío.
In addition, the secretary of the JND mentioned that progress could be made in “approving other types of establishments where cannabis may be sold.” The IRCCA is developing a computer system that will allow those interested in cannabis to register directly in pharmacies. There are currently 50,000 registered users, all of whom had to register with the Uruguayan post office.
THE VISION OF FECCU AND ACCA
The Cannabis Growers Group of Uruguay (ACCA) argues that progress should be made towards a “system of multiple licenses that includes the little ones” and through which, among other things, clubs can increase the number of their members, but “not in one dependency on the private hotel industry”.
They propose that this system can be used to sell home-grown cannabis, an option not foreseen in the project. “The idea is that if I live in a city that doesn’t have dispensaries selling cannabis or clubs, I can produce it to supply the area and solve the problem of poor distribution.”
Today, access to cannabis for recreational use by adults in Uruguay faces several problems due to the lack of dispensaries or licensed clubs in some areas.
The President of the Federation of Cannabis Clubs of Uruguay (FECCU), María José Miles, believes that it should be possible to obtain the plants from both dispensaries and clubs.
However, in an interview, she pointed out that there are other necessary changes that would make it easier to authorize the sale of cannabis to tourists, such as creating a distribution system. In other words, the clubs could rent a common location where the monthly dues could be taken and from there distributed to all their members.
Currently, access to cannabis in areas where there are no dispensaries or clubs presents several problems. These premises could act as alternative channels, not only to facilitate distribution in general, but also to reach places where there is no access to legal cannabis. There is even discussion of the possibility of considering including home deliveries.
COMPANIES OR ASSOCIATIONS?
One aspect that has been the subject of much debate since the law was passed is the limited variety of cannabis available in pharmacies. There are currently only two strains that contain between 5% and 6% of THC (psychoactive compound) — despite the pack claiming 9%.
Cannabis with a maximum THC content of 11% or 12% – packaging says 15% – will hit the market this month, and it’s hoped to add more strains. However, the THC content of this cannabis is still lower than the roughly 17% THC value offered in the clubs.
The flowers sold in pharmacies are made by three companies that won the tenders. It is the most heavily controlled cannabis, as it must meet all of the requirements set by the IRCCA for handling state-owned marijuana.
According to the companies that make the cannabis available in pharmacies, allowing clubs to sell their product to foreigners constitutes “unfair competition” because of the disparity in controls.
Representatives of the three companies mentioned were present at the Tourism Committee of the Chamber of Deputies this month and presented a document in which they explained “why it should be the companies that offer this product to tourists” and not the clubs or hotels.
From their point of view and according to the summary of the meeting, the same controls are not guaranteed for sales through clubs and hotels as for sales through pharmacies. In addition, the clubs do not meet the same quality requirements as the companies that produce for the state, which would lead to “unfair competition”, according to one of the representatives on the committee.
On the other hand, they argued that they are currently selling half of the permitted production
With information from latinapress