One year after Uruguay legalized marijuana, here's what it's become

[JacksinPA]

https://mic.com/articles/106094/one...-marijuana-here-s-what-it-s-become#.6Zy27O0tX

One year ago, Uruguay became the first country in the world to completely legalize marijuana in a move that has since been dubbed the "great experiment." But for the last few months, it looked like Uruguay's experiment was coming to an end as public sentiment continued to go against legal marijuana and a rising presidential candidate vowed to repeal much of the law if elected.

At the end of last month, however, voters in Uruguay granted the leftist Broad Front coalition another presidential term by electing 74-year-old oncologist Tabare Vazquez over center-right National Party candidate Luis Lacalle Pou, 53% to 40%. In doing so, Uruguay solidified its left-leaning status and kept alive the country's legal marijuana and the government's growing dispensary system.
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Uruguay is a very progressive country, with such amenities as cradle-to-graver free health care & free education through college. It was also a pioneer in legalizing general access to MJ.

Picked this up the other day while watching on Netflix an episode of the late Anthony Bourdain's CNN series. It was interesting to watch him smoking a doobie while hanging out at the beach with friends. Interesting country. Would love to visit.

 

[Dittohead not!]

https://mic.com/articles/106094/one...-marijuana-here-s-what-it-s-become#.6Zy27O0tX

One year ago, Uruguay became the first country in the world to completely legalize marijuana in a move that has since been dubbed the "great experiment." But for the last few months, it looked like Uruguay's experiment was coming to an end as public sentiment continued to go against legal marijuana and a rising presidential candidate vowed to repeal much of the law if elected.

At the end of last month, however, voters in Uruguay granted the leftist Broad Front coalition another presidential term by electing 74-year-old oncologist Tabare Vazquez over center-right National Party candidate Luis Lacalle Pou, 53% to 40%. In doing so, Uruguay solidified its left-leaning status and kept alive the country's legal marijuana and the government's growing dispensary system.
================================================
Uruguay is a very progressive country, with such amenities as cradle-to-graver free health care & free education through college. It was also a pioneer in legalizing general access to MJ.

Picked this up the other day while watching on Netflix an episode of the late Anthony Bourdain's CNN series. It was interesting to watch him smoking a doobie while hanging out at the beach with friends. Interesting country. Would love to visit.

Reading through the article, it's clear that the leaders of Uruguay have concluded that prohibition was not working, and that a highly regulated market would better control the use of pot and discourage underground markets that fuel cartels and gangs. I don't see anything in that article indicating that there is a popular movement to go back to prohibition, just that some aren't sure the current system is the best.

Uruguay is an example of a social democracy, Bernie Sanders and the Scandinavian countries' version of "socialism," yet, when the evils of what some like to call "socialism" are being discussed, it's always Venezuela and Cuba that come to the forefront. I wonder why that is?

 

[JacksinPA]

Reading through the article, it's clear that the leaders of Uruguay have concluded that prohibition was not working, and that a highly regulated market would better control the use of pot and discourage underground markets that fuel cartels and gangs. I don't see anything in that article indicating that there is a popular movement to go back to prohibition, just that some aren't sure the current system is the best.

Uruguay is an example of a social democracy, Bernie Sanders and the Scandinavian countries' version of "socialism," yet, when the evils of what some like to call "socialism" are being discussed, it's always Venezuela and Cuba that come to the forefront. I wonder why that is?

Americans in general are still suffering from the Cold War ('duck & cover') & McCarthyism. Most of these automatically equate socialism with communism & the dark times of the Stalin era.

 

[Phys251]

https://mic.com/articles/106094/one...-marijuana-here-s-what-it-s-become#.6Zy27O0tX

One year ago, Uruguay became the first country in the world to completely legalize marijuana in a move that has since been dubbed the "great experiment." But for the last few months, it looked like Uruguay's experiment was coming to an end as public sentiment continued to go against legal marijuana and a rising presidential candidate vowed to repeal much of the law if elected.

At the end of last month, however, voters in Uruguay granted the leftist Broad Front coalition another presidential term by electing 74-year-old oncologist Tabare Vazquez over center-right National Party candidate Luis Lacalle Pou, 53% to 40%. In doing so, Uruguay solidified its left-leaning status and kept alive the country's legal marijuana and the government's growing dispensary system.
================================================
Uruguay is a very progressive country, with such amenities as cradle-to-graver free health care & free education through college. It was also a pioneer in legalizing general access to MJ.

Picked this up the other day while watching on Netflix an episode of the late Anthony Bourdain's CNN series. It was interesting to watch him smoking a doobie while hanging out at the beach with friends. Interesting country. Would love to visit.

With Brazil having been the latest nation to experiment with right-wing fascism, it is refreshing to see nations such as Uruguay stand out like a progressive lighthouse.

I wonder if progressive Brazilians, who do exist, have started "move to Uruguay" memes like our "move to Canada" memes.