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Earlier this year Uruguayan President José Mujica made international headlines when he announced that he wanted to legalize marijuana in his country. This week he took a big step towards making that goal a reality. A bill which would legalize marijuana was officially submitted to the national legislature. From CNN:
With the intent of undermining the market for illegal drugs, Uruguay’s government presented a bill to lawmakers that would legalize marijuana under a government monopoly.
The government of President Jose Mujica has argued that the war on drugs has failed, and that separating the market for marijuana from the market for harder drugs will have social and health benefits.
The bill was presented to congress on Wednesday, and includes no details of how legalization would be cultivated, regulated or sold. But it makes it clear that the government would be the sole manager of the “importation, production, acquisition … commercialization and distribution of marijuana or its derivatives.”
Based on the details known so far, the President’s administration’s plan is to highly regulate the legal use of marijuana and have the government maintain a monopoly over its commercial sale. Government monopolies on “vices” is not a new idea. In several counties and regions in the United States, local governments still have monopolies on the sale of alcoholic beverages. This model of regulating liquor was popular in counties and regions that had tried and given up on alcohol prohibition but still wanted liquor to be heavily controlled.
If Uruguay does legalize marijuana it could have huge political implications for the region. Many Latin American leaders have openly questioned the wisdom of the war on drugs, so if Uruguay’s legalization plan succeeds it could easily serve as a model for neighboring countries. Before that happens though, the bill first most win approval in Uruguay’s legislature, which could be a long and contentious fight.
4 Comments
You know Jon, The US Postal Service is in need of a fresh revenue stream.
:o)
The Uruguyans are doing something very, very clever, they’ve figured out a way to legalize the sale and use of marijuana while fully complying with the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
The Convention says (in Sect 28) cannabis is to be controlled by the same system as opium. So mentally find and replace cannabis for opium (or opium poppy) below:
“All cultivators of the opium poppy shall be required to deliver their total crops of opium to the Agency. The Agency shall purchase and take physical possession of such crops as soon as possible, but not later than four months after the end of the harvest… The Agency shall, in respect of opium, have the exclusive right of importing, exporting, wholesale trading and maintaining stocks other than those held by manufacturers of opium alkaloids, medicinal opium or opium preparations.” (Sect. 23)
–The Agency, in the US context, means the DEA which already regulates manufacture and distribution of prescription drugs. It has exclusive rights to wholesale trading and maintaining stocks. Retail trading could be handled by another govt agency (like the one that makes home deliveries 6 days a week).
The Parties shall require that the trade in and distribution of drugs be under licence except where such trade or distribution is carried out by a State enterprise or State enterprises. (Sect. 30).
–State enterprises would mean either a govt agency or a govt owned corporation (So for US examples, both the National Park Service and Amtrak could fall under this exemption. However I’d suggest sticking to the to the mailman as weedman business model).
The Parties shall not permit the possession of drugs except under legal authority. (Sect. 33)
–In this context, legal authority = sales receipt proving the drugs were bought from the govt.
When does the US invade? Can’t have no terrorist mj on the loose in out back yard.
You are suggesting the USPS goes to pot?
Yup, I imagine it’d require an Act of Congress (drug dealing could safely be called a “nonpostal service”) but it would do three things.
1. Establishes a uniform national policy (since Supremacy Clause means federal activities are exempt from state and local enforcement).
2. Allows the US Govt to control pricing (Mark Kleiman has expressed a fear that legal pot could become TOO cheap). There’d be no need to tax it per se since the difference between marginal cost and sales price would go to USPS account and thence to Tsy.
3. A federal monopoly would be the only effective way to control TV or billboard drug advertising (which, for legal commerce, is protected by the 1st Amendment). If only the Feds could sell it, only the Feds could advertise (or choose not to).
The funny thing is I’ve never been a pot smoker so I’m pretty much indifferent as to whether its legalized or not. However I think Uruguay’s angle of attack is fascinating, that’s a hell of a loophole they found.