Uruguay To Move Forward With Cannabis Tourism 'ASAP, To Start Testing What Happens,' Govt. Official Says

By Franca Quarneti via El Planteo.
In an interview with the journal El País, from Uruguay, Daniel Radío, Secretary-General of the National Drug Secretariat (SND) and president of Uruguay's Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA) noted that he would like to implement cannabis tourism in the country "as soon as possible, to start testing what happens."

Currently, Law 19,172 enacted in 2013, allows access to marijuana through self-cultivation, cannabis clubs, or authorized pharmacies. In addition, consumers must be over 18 years old, have Uruguayan citizenship or permanent residence in the country.

"I think that at some point in history it will seem obvious that when people go to another country they will be able to have a glass of wine or smoke cannabis if they want to. Today that is not the case because we bear with the leftovers of prohibition," stated Radío. At the same time, the official stressed that the objective is not to "promote" marijuana consumption, but to put an end to a "basic inequity" in Uruguayan legislation.

Radío stated that one option to enable access to tourists would be to implement by decree "some kind of temporary registration that would end when the citizen leaves the country".

Likewise, the president of IRCCA stated that the opening must be "gradual", so he estimates that, initially, tourists will be able to buy cannabis only in pharmacies.

Photo by Mónica Volpin On Pixabay.