Uruguay sells recreational marijuana to more than 16,000 people five months after legalising drug

Government has upped THC levels of the drug from 2% to 9%

Sales became legal on 19 July (Getty)

Five months after legalising recreational marijuana, there are more than 16,000 Uruguayans registered to buy the drug from pharmacies, up from 5,000 users in July.

People in Uruguay can also grow plants at home, or become a member of a local Cannabis Club to withdraw up to 40g of marijuana per month. There are 70 membership clubs, according to data from the Institute for Regulation and Control of Cannabis website.

With many countries around the world campaigning to legalise the sale and purchase of marijuana, the world’s eyes are on countries like Uruguay to see how the government coped with the new system and what obstacles they encountered.

Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalise the sale of recreational marijuana – across all of its territory – giving new access to highs for its population of 3.4 million people.

Campaigners say legalising marijuana helps to end drug trafficking and can save lives as illegal drugs are often mixed with ingredients that are dangerous to consume.

Since July, the government has worked to provide high-quality, low-cost marijuana to registered users, although the existing law has been accused of lacking clarity as to what other vendors can sell the drug and how to classify a pharmacy.

At the pharmacies, people are vetted via a fingerprint scan and handed a thermosealed pack, as much as $70 cheaper than much lesser quality substance on the streets.

Thanks to the separation of church and state in the Catholic country, Uruguay has been at the forefront of liberal policies compared to its much larger South American neighbours.

While women can be imprisoned for suffering a miscarriage in places like El Salvador, abortion was legalised in 2012 in Uruguay, and is only one of two countries alongside Cuba to have done so in the region.

However, the sale of medical marijuana is illegal in Uruguay, while medical marijuana is slowly being adopted across many other countries including the US and Canada. Marijuana is also banned for foreign tourists.

And even with recreational marijuana, there have been obstacles, with only a handful of pharmacists signing up to serve government-registered consumers, as reported by the Guardian.

There are reportedly 11 provinces that do not have any legal vendors, and the government is considering opening marijuana kiosks in those areas, offering 5-gram cannabis sachets alongside chocolate and cookies.

Despite resistance from pharmacists and the banks handling their accounts, the government has upped the content of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of the drug, from 2 per cent on the first batch to 9 per cent.