Legalizing weed: the Uruguayan model

The small South American country is poised to become the first nation to legalize and regulate the production, sale and consumption of weed. This would place Uruguay at the vanguard of liberal drug policies, surpassing even The Netherlands, where recreational drugs are illegal but a policy of tolerance is in place.

The Uruguayan government offers specific proposals for how to manage a legal market for marijuana.

The government supports the marijuana bill and says it was designed to resolve issues particular to Uruguay. But the model the bill proposes will undoubtedly be studied by other countries that grapple with the similar questions.

The same debates about marijuana that exist in the United States -- about medicinal properties, recreational use, the impact on the justice system -- have been happening in Uruguay for a long time, Calzada said. The decision to push legislation to overhaul its drug policies did not come overnight. "We have reflected on our problems," Calzada said, and the government felt that Uruguay's tradition of tolerance and equality merited action on the marijuana issue.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/20/world/americas/uruguay-marijuana-bill/index.html?hpt=ila_t5