Sale of marijuana in Uruguay faces obstacles

Establishments have asked for de-accreditation of Ircca after banks have requested restriction to
companies that sold the product

Last stage of an ambitious project by the Uruguayan government to regulate the recreational use of
marijuana, the sale of the product in pharmacies finds obstacles to be maintained. Most of the
establishments authorized for sale asked for the de-accreditation of the Cannabis Regulation and
Control Institute (Ircca) after banks presented restrictions to the companies that marketed the
product.

While the Uruguayan government is seeking a legal solution to the impasse, the other two channels
of consumption provided for in the law that regulates marijuana, self-cultivation and cannabis clubs
continue to gain support. At the same time, the law sanctioned in 2013 by then-President José
Mujica is questioned in the Uruguayan parliament.

In Artigas, the most populous municipality in the extreme north of Uruguay, which borders the city
of Quaraí, the only pharmacy that was authorized to market marijuana suspended sales in
September. Located in the central region of the city, just a few minutes from the International
Bridge of Concordia, the small establishment welcomed the new customers for just over a month.
At first, the couple of owners Luis Carlos Xavier and Kelsey Irache were reluctant to have the law
regulating marijuana. "We had our head 'made', we stigmatized the consumer," he says.

Smooth but not doubtful

While consumers felt that the marijuana sold at the pharmacy was "softer" on the one hand, they
knew their origin was not dubious. "Many people thanked us for not having to resort to the sales'
mouths," comments Luis Carlos. The profile of the public, unlike the one initially imagined,
surprised the owners. Among them were young (adults) accompanied by parents to the elderly in
their 80s. "The period was good because it allowed us to open the head, seeing that the people who
consumed were not those who were being stigmatized," adds the trader.

All the purchasers are registered in Ircca and were identified in the pharmacy by a system that
recognizes the user's fingerprint, a mechanism that, in the beginning, caused the distrust of many
consumers. Sales only happen with cash and each person can get up to 40 grams per month. The
couple does not rule out resuming the sale of marijuana in the future, but regrets the attitude of the
Uruguayan government regarding the case.

Law created during Mujica's term

The law was created during the tenure of José "Pepe" Mujica (2010-2015), but the sale in
pharmacies began in the Tabaré Vázquez administration, which in 2015 assumed the presidency for
the second time. Although both are from the same party, the leftist Frente Ampla, there are those
who see a change in the government's stance on marijuana. "No one came out to defend the purpose
of the law," Xavier complains about the imbroglio with the banks. "There was no political will. The
law focused on combating drug trafficking, but there was also the public health component, and the
government did not defend it, "he summarizes.

The barriers encountered by pharmacies contrast with the euphoria perceived in the first days of
selling the product, in July this year. In Montevideo, registered users have exhausted the stock of
four pharmacies during the first day of commercialization. Some of these establishments have long
queues at the front door before the sale is started. The two varieties put on the market by the
Uruguayan government, called Alpha I and Beta I, have a percentage of 2% tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the psychoactive component of the plant. In each package, of five grams of the product,
there are recommendations to the user.

Problems with the banking sector

Selling at drugstores began to struggle in mid-August this year when the banking industry reported
that it would not work with establishments that were related to the production and sale of marijuana.
One of the alternatives discussed by pharmacies at the time was the opening of accounts in savings
and credit cooperatives or in bill collection networks, but the initiative did not evolve.

In addition to international banks, state-owned Banco República has added to the restriction. The
stance is justified by the fact that marijuana is criminalized internationally, so that the financial
regulations of other countries prevent the relation and receipt of money from its sale. Today, 12
pharmacies are qualified to carry out the sale, according to Ircca, five of which are located in
Montevideo. In July, there were 16 registered establishments and the number was expected to
widen.

The former president and now Senator Jose Mujica even stated that the economic authorities of the
current government should resign if they do not find a solution to the problem. It was during the
Mujica government that Uruguay published law 19,172 of December 2013, which legalized
production, distribution and sale of marijuana in the small country of 3 million inhabitants, through
three mutually exclusive modalities. That is, it is not allowed to have access to the substance by
more than one route.

Marijuana self-cultivation is an option for users

Small number of pharmacies enabled for sale triggered alternatives for plant consumers

The calm Uruguayan city Bella Unión, with its 13 thousand inhabitants, has as main attraction the
freeshops. Due to its location it borders both with Brazil and with the Argentinean Monte Caseros,
receives daily tourists from the two neighboring countries. In a simple house, a few minutes from
the border with the city of Barra do Quaraí, the housewife Hilda Pereira takes care of a few feet of
tomato that she cultivates in the yard. Next to the vegetables, there is a greenhouse with six feet of
marijuana in flower, maximum allowed to the selfcultivators by the Uruguayan law.

The planter is Sebastian Fernandez, 33, the son of Hilda and a self-cultivation enthusiast. "In
Montevideo, where the population is half the country, people generally do not have a yard to
produce, so most will buy from the pharmacy, which is the only alternative," he reports.

In the interior of the country, besides being able to count on more land for cultivation, the users
have few pharmacies enabled for sale. Fernandez participated in the mobilization held in 2012,
known as "Amanhecer Verde", which had as one of its flags the permission to grow the plant itself.
To become a self-cultivator you need to register with a post office. Each registered individual is
allowed to grow up to six feet of marijuana in bloom. It is not a mere formality.

According to Fernandez, inspectors of the Cannabis Regulation and Control Institute (Ircca) have
already been twice in 2016 to the site to inspect the plantation. The main advantages of self-
cultivation, according to him, are the cost, less than the illegal purchase, and guarantee of
provenance. "We used marijuana that was not the same thing. It was a pressed thing from Paraguay,
which uses insecticide, which has fungus, causes tremendous damage to the lungs, "he notes.

In the neighborhood of the small town, where all the locals know each other, Fernandez says he has
not encountered problems. "I have been a smoker since I was 17 years old. All my neighbors know,
I have no problem with anyone, so I think in this sense society has advanced a lot, "he says.

Care routine

The routine in the plantation includes special care with the lighting of the plants, since the amount
of light hours is what regulates if the foot will flourish. In some days, it is also necessary to water.
The seeds must be purchased from producers authorized by Ircca.

Although the space for tomato feet has gotten smaller, Hilda says she does not feel uncomfortable
with the new crop. "I know my children are consuming a plant," she says, who also feared that the
child had to resort to "mouths" to buy.

Cannabis Clubs

The other mode of consumption that has won supporters in Uruguay, provided for in the national
law that regulated marijuana, is the creation of cannabis clubs, authorized in 2014. Each of these
associations can count on a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 45 members. The planting is limited
to 99 female plants and annual production can not exceed 480 grams per member. In these clubs,
the cultivation is destined only for the consumption of its members. According to Ircca, there are
currently 68 clubs registered with the government.

Carlos "Ojito" Aranaga, 29, a construction worker, is looking for the creation of a cannabis club in
Bella Unión. "The advantage is that we have more varieties and are stronger than those in the
pharmacy, with 16% of psychoactivity," he reports. In his evaluation, the imbroglio involving the
banks may even hurt the sale of marijuana in pharmacies, but should not influence the continuity of
consumption in both the self-cultivation and cannabis club modality.

The inspiration of the Uruguayans were the clubs canábicos existing in Spain. However, there are
some substantial differences between the two models. The main one is the limited number of
members, since in the European country the members can reach more than a thousand. "It is a very
important policy for those frequent consumers, because through the club they can achieve the
quality and quantity that they can not find in the pharmacy," says the former Deputy of the Frente
Amplio Nicolas Nuñez.

In addition, he says, the club also goes against individualism by allowing users to share experiences
and share production costs.

Regulation of marijuana use in Uruguay is not peaceful

Much of the Uruguayan population is against measure for causing damage to the health of the
young

The impact of the Uruguayan marijuana regulation program is far from peaceful. Much of the
population is still against the measure, according to opinion polls. At the same time, psychiatrists
have warned of the effects of increased consumption and marijuana harms especially in the young
population.

"We can say with certainty that since the beginning of the law consumption has increased because it
lowered the perception of risk of the drug, ie, it has developed in the population the idea that
consuming marijuana is not so bad," says opposition MP Gerardo Amarilla, author of a bill that
aims to suspend the law in effect today.

The deputy cites data from the National Institute of Statistics, which, he says, show that marijuana
use has even increased among adolescents, outpacing tobacco use. It also reports that the Inter-
American Drug Abuse Control Commission (OAS) has announced that Uruguay is the top country
for easier access to marijuana and other substances.

Drug trafficking

Moreover, according to Amarilla, the law did not have the expected effect on its impact on drug
trafficking. One of the goals of the Uruguayan government in regulating marijuana was precisely to
weaken the illegal market. "The numbers of drug seizures by the police say that they are entering
(in the country) a volume equal to or higher than the one that entered before the law," he argues.
The parliamentarian draws attention to the fact that many consumers can not register in Ircca
because they are underage. It also warns of the existence of "cannabis tourism". "These sectors buy
on the black market, or 'gray', which begins to be generated by legal forms of drug acquisition."

The project presented by Amarilla counts, according to him, with the signature of several
parliamentarians. "I believe that the state's production and sale of marijuana is a bad sign for the
population. The most confusing message is that, besides, marijuana is sold in pharmacies, places
where in the collective imagination good things are sold for health ", adds the deputy.

Evaluation about the law

For those who advocate regulation, it is too early to assess the impact of the law on drug trafficking.
Former deputy Nicolas Nuñez, a deputy speaker in the text of the law regulating use, says it is
necessary to wait until the substance is sold in pharmacies, which has made the great leap in terms
of registered consumers. "I think we will be able to measure the impact on drug trafficking when the
problem of selling in pharmacies is solved."

In the first weeks of the sale, the number of registered users jumped from 4 thousand to the current
15 thousand. Although the seizure of illegal marijuana is on the rise, Nuñez says that after the
legalized sale began in July, drug traffickers began to realize that the regulatory program was taking
away a sizeable portion of its "customers." "It may have been this that alerted the banks," adds the
former MP, who questions the fact that the financial system, he said, apparently did not take the
same stance with the money coming from the trade. "Do the drug traffickers keep the money under
the mattress?" He asks.

Despite the impasse that today involves the sale in pharmacies, Nuñez says that the clash does not
jeopardize the continuity of the regulation program. "The uncertainty is about how Uruguay will
solve the problem. In any case, what is very clear is that the policy of regulation has come to stay
and we can get around this problem, which is one of several that have arisen with regulation, "he
says.

Elected deputy for Frente Amplio, Nuñez says he does not see any substantial differences between
the governments of Pepe Mujica and Tabaré Vasquez regarding the regulation of marijuana. "Both
have a harm reduction approach, with regulation as a way to reduce health problems," he explains.
One of the factors that support this statement is that the president of Ircca was the same since the
creation of the institute in 2013, the sociologist Augusto Vitale. However, two weeks ago, Vitale
was replaced in office by the secretary general of the National Drug Board, Diego Olivera.
Another evidence that the national program is consolidated, according to Nuñez, is the adhesion to
self-cultivation and cannabis clubs, which began even before the sale began in pharmacies. "It was
the first valve of escape that the consumers found to be able to access a substance of quality and
regulated", evaluates the ex-parliamentarian.

Published on 11/18/2017
Correio do Povo/Porto Alegre (Brasil)