ABSTRACT
Why and how did Uruguay legalize recreational cannabis? Uruguay became the first country in the world to fully regulate its marijuana market, from production to consumption and distribution, and it did so in a highly state-oriented way using a top-down policy process. This chapter describes the reasons behind the passage of the marijuana regulation law in 2013, explains the main driving factors and actors behind the policy reform and argues that a public insecurity window of opportunity was crucial for the regulatory model. The chapter provides a description of how the regulation was designed, particularly the three ways in which marijuana can be accessed: home cultivation, cannabis social clubs and pharmacies, and emphasizes how the state implements and enforces the law. Five years after being approved and implemented, it is possible to describe some of the main strengths and weaknesses of this state-oriented model, and departing from this first evaluation, draft some lessons for other countries pursuing legalization of recreational marijuana.
