Uruguay Officially Chillest Government Ever
Come mid-2014, Uruguay will become the first country where marijuana is not only legal, but sold by the government (!!!). The going price? A very affordable $1 per gram, set to match the current market price in Uruguay. For those as naive as I am, weed in the U.S. goes for — according to the Guardian, foremost authority on the cannabis market — between $8 and $17 a gram. Feel free to weigh in on the accuracy of this in the comments.
What a legal, government-controlled cannabis market will actually look like is fascinating in theory:
“It’ll be like milk. The price of marijuana will be fixed right down the line, just like the government sets the price dairy farmers get for their milk and then sets prices all along the milk supply line right down to the price of a carton of milk at the supermarket.”
Uruguay’s government will also control the psychoactive level of the cannabis sold through the pharmacies to the consuming public by testing the THC content of the plants grown under the new system. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main psychoactive ingredient of the cannabis plant. The National Drugs Board is setting the THC content at between 5% and 12%, said Calzada. “The 40g a month limit for individuals could vary a little because of this,” he added, depending on the THC content of the cannabis sought.
The government will also be advising on how best to consume the drug. “Apart from being vulcanised or smoked, it can be vaporised, which is much less harmful, or in food such as brownies,” said Calzada.
Thank you, Julio Calzada, head of Uruguay’s National Drugs Board!
Photo: Marco Gomes
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