ruguay’s Uncharted Future: Key Challenges to Cannabis Regulation
Getting Uruguay’s law through Congress in spite of public opposition proved to be only the first step in a long, difficult process. The hard part—implementing the law—is just now beginning, and the law is already facing obstacles. On top of the unfavorable public opinion climate, Uruguay must respond to interna- tional critics and ensure that the law meets its goal of undercutting the black market.
Variable 1: Domestic Politics
In the general elections on October 26, 2014, Uru- guay’s ruling Broad Front coalition managed to keep its slim majority in both houses of Congress for the 2015-2020 term, becoming the country’s first party to hold onto a legislative majority for three consecu- tive terms since the 1940s. In a November 30 runoff, Broad Front candidate and former President Tabaré Vázquez beat his National Party challenger Luis Al- berto Lacalle Pou by 53.6 to 41.1 percent. While the election results ensure the law’s safety in the short term, on the campaign trail Vázquez made it clear that he has some reservations about it.
It is notable that despite the unpopularity of the can- nabis law, it did not become a primary campaign is- sue. This was likely because of the unique drug policy position of Lacalle Pou, who in November 2010 pre- sented the first bill in Uruguayan history that would have legalized home-growing cannabis for personal use. His bill was surprisingly lenient considering it had come from one of the country’s leading conser- vatives; it did not specify a limit on the number of cannabis plants one could have in the home, nor did it place any limit on how much cannabis could be considered intended for “personal use.” Yet while La- calle Pou supported home-growing, he swore to work to repeal Uruguay’s cannabis law if victorious, and said the commercial sales and cannabis clubs would not move forward under his administration.30
The incoming president’s concerns, by contrast, ap- pear to stem from his medical background. Vázquez, a trained oncologist, has expressed doubts about spurring problematic use of the drug as well as the plans to sell it in pharmacies. In a September 2014 interview, he proposed using the registry of buy- ers and home-growers as a way to expose them to drug treatment. His remarks were widely circulated in local press, and many local drug policy reform- ers saw them as a sign Vázquez would implement a heavy-handed approach to the law if elected, which could in turn discourage users from joining the reg- istry.31
Weeks later, he questioned the law’s reliance on phar- macies to sell the drug. In a series of statements to the press in October 2014, Vázquez described its pro- visions regarding pharmacy sales as “unusual” and “incredible,” and said he would be “strictly and close- ly evaluating” the law if elected.32 When pressed, the then presidential candidate said he was concerned that pharmacists could fall victim to the “relentless” violence of drug traffickers as a result of economic