Uruguay poised to legalize marijuana: Is this the right way forward?
(Vatican Radio) 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? 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:
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.