Uruguay will begin selling marijuana for recreational use at pharmacies across the country next week, authorities in the capital Montevideo announced Friday.
Uruguay will thereby become the first country in the world to have fully legalised the production, sale and consumption of marijuana.
From Wednesday, registered users will be able to choose between two types of the drug and purchase a maximum of ten grams per week at a
limited numbers of pharmacies.
According to the National Cannabis Control Institute, 4,711 people have already registered and marijuana will be sold for 1.3 dollars per gram – less than what an illegal dealer would charge.
The measure is the final stage of the process to legalise marijuana use in Uruguay which began in 2013 under the presidency of former guerrilla fighter Jose Mujica.
In contrast with the Netherlands, where the sale of marijuana in tolerated in private “Coffee Shops,” Uruguayan laws also regulate the drug’s production.
Two companies operating near Montevideo are cultivating the drug under government oversight.
However, unlike in the Netherlands, tourists visiting Uruguay will not be able to buy marijuana.
Montevideo (dpa)
