Uruguay poised to legalize marijuana: Is this the right way forward?
Friday, August 2, 2013
Uruguay is poised to become the first nation in the world to create a legal, regulated marijuana market. .. but is this the right way forward? Martin Jelsma is a leading expert on Latin America and international drugs policies. He told Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges that he's in favour of the new law in Uruguay and says it is not intended to liberalize the cannabis market but instead regulate it.
Supporters of the bill say the global military war on illegal drugs has been a costly and bloody failure while critics warn that marijuana is a gateway to hard drugs and Pope Francis during his visit to Brazil last week expressed his concern over moves in some Latin American countries to liberalize drug laws.
Martin Jelsma is a leading expert on Latin America and international drugs policies. He told Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges that he's in favour of the new law in Uruguay and says it is not intended to liberalize the cannabis market but instead regulate it.
Listen to the full interview with Jelsma: RealAudioMP3
Asked for his reaction to the passing of the proposed law by Uruguay's Lower House of Parliament, Jelsma said he was "very pleased" and described the move as "a wise decision" on the part of the Uruguayan government. "For cannabis, this is definitely the way forward," he says.
When asked about the criticism of this measure in Uruguay, Jelsma explained that it is "definitely not the same as liberalising the market." This," he continued, "is a very strictly controlled regulation model, it doesn't increase access to cannabis, but instead restricts it."
Jelsma also believes that this proposed law will act "as a trail-blazer" and notes that several other Latin American nations are considering similar legislation for regulating cannabis.
