Five Years of Cannabis Regulation
Marcos Baudean
Abstract
This chapter describes the void by providing a general perspective on the progress towards regulation as well as assessing the projected outcomes in two objectives of regulation: public health and security. In 2014, the National Drug Board (JND), the Uruguayan Drugs Observatory (OUD), staff of various ministries, staff of the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA), officials of the Judicial Power, national and international experts, and Monitor Cannabis Uruguay (MCU) developed a system of indicators for the evaluation of cannabis regulation. Cannabis flower/buds are considered much better than the traditional illegal product: pressed cannabis. Research on cannabis-buying practices in Uruguay confirms the international acquisition pattern rooted in social networks. Local producers are not related to trafficking networks. Five years after the national regulation of cannabis began, several indicators show that regulation has its strengths and weaknesses.