As Uruguay pot sales come online, some notes about the law

I'm an expat living in Uruguay and thought I could offer some detail on legal weed here, now that they are finally signing people up to be buyers. I welcome anyone to correct anything I write here; I only wanted to share what my understanding of the situation because I thought people might find it interesting.

Pot is legal in Uruguay, right?
Use of marijuana is legal, but selling marijuana is restricted. Pot possession has actually been decriminalized here since the early 1970s. It's quite common to smell the aroma while walking around, see people smoking on the waterfront (called the rambla), and on the beach and so forth. However, Uruguay didn't legalize in the same way Washington and Colorado did, with a wide open marketplace: instead, they created a legal framework with regulation in an attempt to prevent what some feared would be potential misuse.

So how can it be sold?
The government decided to allow three ways for residents (people with a cédula, or national ID card) to legally have pot. First, you can purchase from a pharmacy. Second, you can set up a "marijuana club", and collectively grow pot together, distributing to the members. Third, you can grow up to six plants on your own for personal use. In all three cases you are supposed to register with the government.

Why do people need to register?
My understanding of this is that it was a compromise to appease conservative factions worried legalization would lead to a big public health problem. So, in the two cases above where you purchase, you are entitled to 40g per month. They want to try to limit consumption, and be able to identify if people have a health problem / addiction that needs to be addressed.

Isn't that kinda scary?
Well yes, it is. And for a lot of people here, the idea of registering your name with the government is especially nerve-wracking, since in the 80s there was a military dictatorship where people were at times rounded up, persecuted, imprisoned and so on. It's leading a lot of people to not register, and to keep purchasing pot illegally.

Where is it being sold?
The law says it will be pharmacies who sell the marijuana. The thing is, the time has come for pharmacies to sign up for selling, and although there are more than a thousand pharmacies in Uruguay, only about 50 have signed up to sell. The reasons given: some pharmacy owners simply don't agree with the law. Some others, though, are open to selling but afraid of competing with the illegal dealers, worried that they will be on the receiving end of violence for giving them competition. I believe the government is now exploring other avenues for sale besides only pharmacies. Oh, and legally sold pot is not subject to VAT.

How do the pot clubs work?
People can pay dues, like a yearly or monthly fee. It's up to the club how this is administered. The clubs have to be registered with the government. The clubs must have at least 15 (?) members. (Can't remember the exact number.) They can cultivate up to 99 plants (again, I think this number is accurate). The pot is then distributed upon cultivation, but is not supposed to exceed the 40g per month limit.

What if the club grows too much?
People are really unclear. It seems logical that if you need to provide 40g to every paying member, you have to overshoot a bit so everyone gets what they are entitled to. Also, your club might need to maintain some inventory so the pot can be metered out appropriately, and all of this stuff is unclear. Some of the clubs will no doubt sell excess to make extra money. That would be illegal, of course, but people seem not too worried about this, for reasons I will discuss below.

And growing?
Interestingly, although you can grow legally for your own use, you are also supposed to register in order to do that. Most people I have spoken to are not going to register, but if you do play by the rules: you are supposed to share a sample of the strains you grow with the government. I believe the same is true for legally registered clubs. The idea is that the government will build a DNA database of marijuana strains in use, for purposes of scientific study, or also for identifying strains that may still be coming from illegal trafficking.

What about edibles and other products?
Well, paraphernalia is legal. As for other THC-containing products like food, edibles, creams, oils and so on...I have asked and asked, and it seems the law doesn't even mention this. It seems like a huge oversight. So you have this situation where pot is legal, and obviously there's no problem making your own brownies and sharing with friends, but I assume selling them could be considered illegal? No one really knows.

Will there be pot tourism?
Probably. As of the status of the law right now, this would not be technically legal. As I said above, only Uruguayan residents can legally buy marijuana; tourists cannot. Of course, buying pot is very easy for a tourist, and there are even people openly advertising pot tours and so forth, so this will exist even though it's not legal. I imagine the government will look the other way on this stuff, for the most part.

Why would the government keep the sale of pot illegal for tourists?
After speaking to people and reading, my guess is that the law was set up in this way to not piss off nearby countries too much. Uruguay probably didn't want to be flooded with Argentinians and Brazilians looking to get high, and as both of those countries still have fairly severe restrictions, their governments don't like the Uruguayan law very much.

The reason I think the government and police will look the other way on small sales to tourists is that the purpose of the law was to reduce or eliminate trafficking from outside sources. Before this law, most of the pot in Uruguay came in from Paraguay, and it is the homicide and crime associated with the illegal international trafficking that Uruguay wishes to reduce. They are less concerned about domestic sellers, apparently, who are peaceful and selling small amounts. Still, Uruguay is contemplating a new law with a mandatory minimum 2 year sentence for drug traffickers. Time will tell if that passes and if it might apply to small-time local sellers.

All in all, it is interesting watching how this rolls out in Uruguay, and it's great to be in a pot-positive place. The law has big holes (like with edibles), and in my opinion it tries to do much with all the regulations, but perhaps over time the government will see that it isn't worth all the bureaucracy. Time will tell.