They present a project in Parliament so that tourists can buy state marijuana

In the explanatory memorandum, the national representatives, authors of the initiative, explained that this bill seeks to complement the current regulations regarding the regulation of psychoactive cannabis for adult use, taking into account its impact on the development of tourist activity in our country. country. In Uruguay, legal marijuana can only be acquired by residents.
“The important crisis suffered by the national tourism sector as a result of the consequences of the Health Emergency declared in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, requires the development of new strategies that enhance the economic activities associated with the flow of foreign tourism to the country”, stated in the explanatory memorandum.
According to the data handled by the Uruguay XXI Institute, with US$ 1,800 million in annual income, tourism is the main economic activity in the country, surpassing traditional items. On average, our country receives more than three million tourists, that is, it doubles the number of its stable population. In 2015, tourism activity represented 7.1% of GDP and generated 110,000 jobs: “According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), during the next decade, international tourism arrivals to emerging economies -such as Uruguay- they will grow twice as fast as advanced economies and by 2030 developing economies will capture 57% (versus 45% in 2014) of total global arrivals.”
The Uruguay XXI Institute itself, in its Uruguay Cannabis Sector 2012 report, mentions that more than 120 companies are linked to this sector, of which more than 80% are MSMEs. In our country, the cannabis sector generates more than 1,000 direct jobs, expanding significantly during harvest and harvest times.
At the international level, cannabis tourism encompasses various branches of activity that far exceed the production, distribution and sale of cannabis; It has an impact on all areas benefited by the influx of tourists: transportation, hotels, gastronomy, commerce in general, cultural activity, etc. Its pioneering example is found in the Netherlands, where the existence of “coffee shops” for decades has promoted a very important and regular flow of visitors to said country due to said activity. It is an attractive differential when choosing a destination for travelers, explained the authors of the initiative.
For the legislators «Uruguay has a lot of potential to develop this activity for two fundamental reasons: on the one hand, the international visibility that the process of discussion, approval and implementation of Law No. 19,172 gave it; on the other, the very integrity of said framework, which covers the complete cycle of cultivation, harvesting, production, acquisition, storage, marketing and distribution of cannabis and its derivatives. Our country is an example in the world for its regulatory framework for cannabis; see that countries like Canada have taken it as a reference when drawing up their drug policies, as well as other countries that plan to follow the same path today, such as Mexico and Argentina».
According to the data available on the portal of the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA), by mid-October 2021, users registered to access cannabis for recreational use through any of the three regulated channels (pharmacies, self-cultivation and membership clubs), exceed 65,000 people. From the reports published by said body and the National Drug Board (JND), other interesting data also emerge that generally confirm a notable advance of the regulated system, displacing the deregulated market as the main supplier of cannabis; in 2019 it was estimated at US$ 22 million, the value seized from this market. When identifying the obstacles in the advancement of the regulated system, one of the main factors appears to be the impossibility of accessing cannabis by tourists who arrive in the country year after year, many of them under the assumption that they will be able to access it here. legally to this product, and surprisingly they find that they cannot. The approval of this legislative initiative, incorporating tourism within the regulated market, will also favor its progress, continuing with its consolidation and in parallel for the benefit of both its users and the economic activities that are benefited by the entry of visitors to the country.
The deputies who sign the initiative are Nicolás Viera, Bettiana Díaz, Paula Pérez, Javier Umpiérrez, Eduardo Antonini, Cecilia Bottino, Sebastián Valdomir, Diego Reyes, Martín Tierno, Felipe Carballo, Nicolás Lorenzo, Federico Ruiz and Gerardo Scagani.
In summary and ending with the explanatory statement by the deputies who signed the bill, they explained that this initiative will surely invigorate the process of economic recovery that is so urgent for our country, generating new opportunities for development and growth of the economy and Job positions.