Uruguay, the first country where you can smoke marijuana wherever you like
A new law makes the South American country the first in the world to sell the drug over the counter
Uki Goni in Montevideo
Saturday 27 May 2017 14.50 EDT
Alicia Castilla was watering the plants in her garden on a quiet Sunday afternoon when five police patrol cars screeched to a halt outside her home. A team of 14 officers armed to the teeth stormed through her gate and arrested the mild-mannered, 66-year-old intellectual. They seized everything they could find: computers, her mobile phone, books, even an orange squeezer.
They also impounded the 29 cannabis plants she was watering and 24g of marijuana they found in her possession. She was taken to a police station where she spent the night handcuffed to a bench. They treated me like the female version of Pablo Escobar, Castilla told the Observer. But far from resembling the infamous Colombian drug lord who inspired the 2015 Netflix series Narcos, Castilla was a peace-loving, grey-haired author whose book Cultura Cannabis had become an unexpected bestseller. Like many Argentinian sexagenarians, she had recently retired to nearby Uruguay. The seized plants were for her personal use. I make a living writing about marijuana, not selling it.
Castillas arrest in 2011 sent Uruguay into shock. Although the consumption of recreational drugs had never been outlawed in a country that prides itself on its broad-mindedness and liberal institutions, its cultivation and sale remained forbidden. The author faced between two and 10 years behind bars.
Her imprisonment at the womens prison in the town of Canelones became round-the-clock news. I fell into a foul-smelling pit that reminded me of Midnight Express. Cockroaches crawled over the bed, there were rats the size of rabbits in the bathrooms.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/27/marijuana-legalisation-uruguay-seen-half-measure-users
sandensea
(21,639 posts)Puzzler
(2,505 posts)Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is carrying out his election promise to legalize cannabis in Canada (the federal government will set the basic laws, and the provinces can regulate them, as with alcohol).
As a Canadian, I sense little to zero opposition to this now. The major concern is from the police. They need an acurate test for "pot-impaired" divers (not in the "witch-hunt" sense). As most know, THC is detectable for weeks after use, rendering most quick tests useless. They are currently developing newer, more accurate roadside tests that can indicate whther a driver is impaired at the time, and not 6 weeks earlier!
However, there is so much strong cannabis easily available in BC (for example) right now, that I doubt if there'll be any significant increases in impairment.
FYI: There are many licenced medical pot stores already... and virtually any adult can purchase pot without a prescription. Only one's health insurance card is needed. The law has been "stretched" and most of the time, the law is looking the other way... mainly because NOTHING (bad) is happening.
Hopefully, Justin Trudeau will not face any roadblocks. The Feds have already told the Provinces the content of the new laws, so they can adequately prepare for them next year... and the tax revenue!
-Puzzler