MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay passes bill legalizing marijuana split on party lines; Senate discussion next October

The purpose is to spoil the market for drug-traffickers, said President Mujica

Uruguay's lower house passed a marijuana legalization bill on Wednesday which now must be discussed by the Senate, most probably in October. The vote brings Uruguay one step closer to becoming the first country to legally regulate production, distribution and sale of the drug.

After more than 12 hours of debate, the bill garnered the 50 votes it needed to pass in the House of Representatives. Forty-six lawmakers voted against the bill, which means the controversial bill was passed on government/opposition/lines.

President Jose Mujica has said he backs the bill, which would allow marijuana to be sold in pharmacies and create a registry of those who buy it. Only those 18 and older would be allowed to purchase the drug.

”If we legalize it, we think that we will spoil the market (for drug traffickers) because we are going to sell it for cheaper than it is sold on the black market,“ he said. ”And we are going to have people identified.“

Conservative critics of the measure have said it promotes drug addiction and have suggested that Mujica's comments were uninformed.

Supporters of the measure, mostly the Broad Front ruling coalition have argued the bill is targeted on criminal drug trafficking and marks a turning point which could influence other Latin American nations to take a similar approach.

But although the vote was on party lines, the decisive support in the Broad Front coalition, lawmaker Dario Perez admitted he was against the bill but supported it on respect for the unity of the political group to which he belongs.

There was a sigh of relief when Perez announced his support since he was point blank against what he described as ‘dung with or without the bill’. He added marijuana is an enemy or workers, students and even if the bill is finally approved, “the drugs trafficking problem will persist”.

“This is a cultural problem and I came decided not to support it, but I respect the work of my colleagues. Anyhow whether we like it or not this is an issue that should be decided not by the Executive initiative but by the people, with their opinion in the ballot box”, said Perez.

Likewise former president Tabare Vazquez from the Broad Front has openly stated that he is totally against the permissive bill on medical and ethical reasons.

A letter sent by Mujica's government to lawmakers last year presented the bill.

The goal, according to the letter, is to create a government-run market that would ”contribute to the reduction of risks and potential dangers that people who use marijuana for recreation or medical reasons face.“ It added that the bill is not intended to support marijuana but to combat the illegal trade and huge profits behind this ‘industry’.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal substance in Uruguay and traffickers make 30 to 40 million dollars annually from the black market, the government has said. Marijuana use is legal in Uruguay, but production and sale of the drug is not.

Supporters of the country's legalization measure call that a paradox.

”The consumption of marijuana has been allowed for 40 years, but it can only be accessed through the drug dealers, and requires the commission of a crime, in addition to the exposure to other drugs“ the ruling Broad Front said in a statement on its website. ”We have created a great business for drug trafficking, and that is what we want to start to fight.”

In recent years, legalization measures have gained growing support among some Latinamerican leader amid rising violence many tie to the drug war.