Uruguay Gives Green Light to Homegrowing

As of September, Uruguay is officially allowing its citizens to register with the government for a permit to grow cannabis at their residences. Under this law, citizens must be at least eighteen years old to obtain a grow permit. They can have up to six female plants, and yield up to 480 grams from those plants. 

The organization that citizens are to register with is the Regulation and Control of Cannabis Association (IRCCA). While this is an exciting development, registration started off slow, with only ten people signing up on the first day. It seems that despite this act of reaching out to cannabis users, some are still skeptical because of harsh policies and strict laws in the past.

“There are some people who might feel persecuted,” Juan Vaz, a cannabis activist native to Uruguay, told Hemp.org. “For many years, they grew plants in secret and it’s hard to break from that way of thinking.” 

While Uruguay is the first country in the world to legalize cannabis, making it available recreationally and medicinally, the country does have a history of political unrest, causing some to still feel this could be too good to be true. There are still no existing cannabis clubs in the country, and sale from pharmacies has been delayed until the start of next year. Additionally, there is a new presidential election in October, and the challenging candidate has said he would not allow cannabis to be for sale at dispensaries, although he would still allow growing at home for personal use.

Still, as the month goes on, there has been an increase in people registering to grow and more support is being shown for the legislation. If the people continue to back these laws and stand up for cannabis use, a new standard can hopefully be set for the country as a whole.