The South American country of Uruguay may become the very first government to begin legally selling pot. The President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, has proposed a plan that will make their government the sole legal supplier of cannabis. The leader wants his nation to be able to sell marijuana to the public at a cheap and reasonable price, which would take lucrative drug profits out of the hands of violent criminals. Marijuana for personal use is already legal in the small country of 3.3 million people.
During an interview last week with Colombia’s RCN radio, Mujica explained why this inevitable cannabis trade reform makes both economic and practical sense:
”The plan is for the government to sell marijuana at a cheap and reasonable price then monitor what each consumer uses. The idea is to take drug profits out of the hands of criminals. While drug addiction is a medical problem, drug trafficking is an un-winnable police problem.”
Increasing Incarceration Costs Drive Pot Reform
Most world leaders agree that the decades old drug war has failed miserably — both the monetary and social costs caused by imprisoning millions for non-violent drug offenses is also bankrupting many countries. The Christian Post reported that this progressive new approach in Uruguay:
“…aims to take the $750 million in annual profits out of the hands of black market dealers, who often sell other narcotics. Through the legalization plan, the government would become the sole seller of pot to the public.
Legalization would also mean cheaper prices for the drugs, and regulations for quality, safety, and the amount of marijuana users can buy. Perhaps more importantly for Mujica, the steadily increasing costs of drug incarceration he alleged them to be a bigger problem ‘than the drugs themselves,’- could be lowered in the face of fiscal uncertainty.
’Someone has to be the first’ to try a different strategy to tackle the drug crisis, said Mujica.”
About Rhonda Winter
