Uruguay reveals plan to legalize marijuana

http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/06/28/inenglish/1340891690_727578.html

Uruguay last week became the first Latin American country to propose legalizing marijuana. President José Mujica presented a bill to Congress that would give the government full control to regulate the production and sale of the narcotic through a state monopoly.

Mujica's proposal has not only been criticized by the opposition and drug addiction treatment centers, but has also ignited renewed debate across the region, where several leading politicians have called for new ways to combat the drug-trafficking problem in their countries.

"The sale of this drug brings in about $75 million [47 million euros] annually," said Defense Minister Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro, referring to the illegal sale of marijuana in his country.

Some 150,000 Uruguayans - five percent of the general population - consume marijuana regularly.