The Pioneer’s Unfinished Business
Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize recreational cannabis when President José Mujica signed Law 19.172 in December 2013. The system created three access routes — home cultivation of up to six plants, membership in licensed cannabis clubs, or purchase at authorized pharmacies — all overseen by the IRCCA, the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis. Pharmacy sales launched in 2017.
But the law was designed with a deliberate firewall. Only Uruguayan citizens and permanent residents over 18 can register as buyers. Tourists, foreign students, and temporary workers are locked out. Lawmakers feared that opening access would create “marijuana tourism,” damage the country’s reputation, and fuel domestic opposition to a policy that most Uruguayans opposed when it passed.
The Black Market Problem
Twelve years later, the IRCCA’s new executive director, Martín Rodríguez, says that exclusion has become counterproductive. Foreigners visiting Uruguay who want cannabis have no legal option — so they buy it illegally. The regulation, he argues, is indirectly driving people toward the black market and its attendant risks of uncontrolled quality and criminal exposure.
The agency is now designing a framework that would give non-residents access under the same security and tracking controls that apply to registered Uruguayan users. The details — whether through temporary registration, a day-pass system, or a pharmacy-based mechanism — remain under development. President Yamandú Orsi’s administration will need to translate the proposal into legislation and negotiate parliamentary support.
A Market That Keeps Growing
The push comes as domestic demand is surging. Pharmacy sales reached 4,290 kilos in 2025, up from 3,207 in 2024 and 3,254 in 2023 — a 34 percent jump in a single year. The catalyst: higher-THC varieties added to pharmacy shelves in recent years, sold under names like Alfa, Beta, Gamma, and Épsilon. The IRCCA currently registers 85,000 pharmacy buyers, 19,500 club members, and 10,300 home growers across the country’s 57 authorized pharmacies and 572 clubs.
Crucially, Uruguay’s drug observatory notes that overall cannabis consumption has not increased — it has stabilized. What has changed is where people buy. The regulated market is steadily capturing share from the black market, which was the law’s original purpose. But supply cannot keep up: only three companies currently produce cannabis for pharmacy sales. The IRCCA has now licensed four additional producers, all in the process of setting up operations.
From Experiment to Model
The idea of tourist access is not new — a previous IRCCA director floated it in 2021 as a tourism incentive. What has changed is the framing. The current administration presents it not as a revenue play but as harm reduction: if people already consume, regulation should follow them, not exclude them. Global cannabis tourism is estimated at $17 billion annually. Uruguay’s share is currently zero — by design. Whether Orsi’s government can turn that into a controlled opening will determine whether the world’s first legal cannabis market finally matures into a complete one.