As debates over hashish reform proceed around the globe, Uruguay stays the one nation with greater than a decade of real-world information on complete adult-use legalization. That milestone took on new importance this yr with the loss of life of José “Pepe” Mujica, the previous president who championed the sector’s first nationwide legalization framework.
Mujica’s regulation, handed in 2013, used to be by no means about cash in. It aimed to dismantle hypocrisy, offer protection to public well being and cut back the harms of prohibition. As of late, his imaginative and prescient lives on thru Uruguay’s hashish device, which continues to conform and be offering insights to nations nonetheless grappling with reform.
At C-Days 2025, a world hashish and psychedelics summit held in Barcelona, Mercedes Ponce de León, founding father of Latinnabis and director of Expo Hashish Uruguay, offered a data-driven replace on Uruguay’s hashish style: what has labored, the place demanding situations stay and what the sector can be told from it.
3 Felony Channels, Over 100,000 Registered Customers
Uruguay’s adult-use device permits for 3 criminal pathways to get right of entry to hashish:
- House develop: As much as six flowering feminine vegetation and 480 grams in line with yr
- Hashish golf equipment: Non-profit associations of 15 to 45 individuals, with as much as 99 vegetation and a 40-gram per 30 days cap in line with particular person
- Pharmacies: As much as 10 grams a week, offered in 5-gram packs, with 4 THC-limited traces licensed (as much as 20% THC)
As of early 2025, 102,125 customers have been formally registered thru those channels:
- 11,465 house growers
- 15,162 hashish membership individuals
- 75,498 pharmacy shoppers
The rustic has over 460 authorized golf equipment and 40 pharmacies collaborating in this system.
What’s To be had and at What Value?
Pharmacies stay the most typical get right of entry to level, providing 4 traces with distinct THC and CBD profiles. Hashish is offered in sealed 5-gram packs, with costs set via the federal government:
| Pressure | %THC | %CBD | Psychoactivity | Value (UYU) | Approx. USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfa | ≤9 | ≥3 | Medium/Low | $470 | $11.24 |
| Beta | ≤9 | ≥3 | Medium/Low | $490 | $11.71 |
| Gamma | ≤15 | ≤1 | Prime | $550 | $13.15 |
| Épsilon | ≤20 | ≤1 | Prime | $600 | $14.34 |
In spite of standard get right of entry to, restrictions on efficiency, product layout and availability proceed to restrict have an effect on and shopper pride, Ponce de León famous.
Is It Operating?
Sure, however no longer with out caveats. In step with legitimate information offered at C-Days:
- Problematic hashish use has remained strong at 2.1% since 2011
- General hashish intake declined from 14.6% in 2018 to 12.3% in 2024
- Moderate age of first use rose from 18 to two decades previous
- The illicit marketplace has shriveled considerably
Uruguay’s 2024 Nationwide Drug Survey confirmed that 37% of hashish customers now get right of entry to the plant thru criminal approach.
What Nonetheless Wishes Paintings?
In spite of certain public well being results, the style faces continual demanding situations:
- Restricted product selection and innovation
- Asymmetric geographic get right of entry to, particularly outdoor main towns
- Logistical and monetary limitations to exports
- A broader drug coverage framework that is still punitive in different spaces
Ponce de León defined 4 priorities for 2025 and past:
- Foster more potent public-private collaboration
- Spend money on analysis and construction
- Replace rules to enlarge criminal get right of entry to and make stronger consumer enjoy
- Combine Uruguay into international markets thru moral and sustainable business
What’s Subsequent?
Uruguay did what many nations are nonetheless debating. It constructed a criminal hashish device that reduces hurt, shrinks the illicit marketplace and respects shopper rights. The results are measurable. So are the gaps.
In Ponce de León’s phrases:
“The certain have an effect on is confirmed. But when the framework isn’t up to date, if get right of entry to doesn’t enlarge and innovation isn’t assured, the style dangers changing into symbolic quite than purposeful.”
As the sector displays at the legacy of José “Pepe” Mujica, Uruguay’s hashish experiment stays a part of his lasting imprint on historical past. The street forward will decide whether or not that legacy deepens or stalls.
By the use of El Planteo
Photograph via Jared Schwitzke on Unsplash.
As debates over hashish reform proceed around the globe, Uruguay stays the one nation with greater than a decade of real-world information on complete adult-use legalization. That milestone took on new importance this yr with the loss of life of José “Pepe” Mujica, the previous president who championed the sector’s first nationwide legalization framework.
Mujica’s regulation, handed in 2013, used to be by no means about cash in. It aimed to dismantle hypocrisy, offer protection to public well being and cut back the harms of prohibition. As of late, his imaginative and prescient lives on thru Uruguay’s hashish device, which continues to conform and be offering insights to nations nonetheless grappling with reform.
At C-Days 2025, a world hashish and psychedelics summit held in Barcelona, Mercedes Ponce de León, founding father of Latinnabis and director of Expo Hashish Uruguay, offered a data-driven replace on Uruguay’s hashish style: what has labored, the place demanding situations stay and what the sector can be told from it.
3 Felony Channels, Over 100,000 Registered Customers
Uruguay’s adult-use device permits for 3 criminal pathways to get right of entry to hashish:
- House develop: As much as six flowering feminine vegetation and 480 grams in line with yr
- Hashish golf equipment: Non-profit associations of 15 to 45 individuals, with as much as 99 vegetation and a 40-gram per 30 days cap in line with particular person
- Pharmacies: As much as 10 grams a week, offered in 5-gram packs, with 4 THC-limited traces licensed (as much as 20% THC)
As of early 2025, 102,125 customers have been formally registered thru those channels:
- 11,465 house growers
- 15,162 hashish membership individuals
- 75,498 pharmacy shoppers
The rustic has over 460 authorized golf equipment and 40 pharmacies collaborating in this system.
What’s To be had and at What Value?
Pharmacies stay the most typical get right of entry to level, providing 4 traces with distinct THC and CBD profiles. Hashish is offered in sealed 5-gram packs, with costs set via the federal government:
| Pressure | %THC | %CBD | Psychoactivity | Value (UYU) | Approx. USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfa | ≤9 | ≥3 | Medium/Low | $470 | $11.24 |
| Beta | ≤9 | ≥3 | Medium/Low | $490 | $11.71 |
| Gamma | ≤15 | ≤1 | Prime | $550 | $13.15 |
| Épsilon | ≤20 | ≤1 | Prime | $600 | $14.34 |
In spite of standard get right of entry to, restrictions on efficiency, product layout and availability proceed to restrict have an effect on and shopper pride, Ponce de León famous.
Is It Operating?
Sure, however no longer with out caveats. In step with legitimate information offered at C-Days:
- Problematic hashish use has remained strong at 2.1% since 2011
- General hashish intake declined from 14.6% in 2018 to 12.3% in 2024
- Moderate age of first use rose from 18 to two decades previous
- The illicit marketplace has shriveled considerably
Uruguay’s 2024 Nationwide Drug Survey confirmed that 37% of hashish customers now get right of entry to the plant thru criminal approach.
What Nonetheless Wishes Paintings?
In spite of certain public well being results, the style faces continual demanding situations:
- Restricted product selection and innovation
- Asymmetric geographic get right of entry to, particularly outdoor main towns
- Logistical and monetary limitations to exports
- A broader drug coverage framework that is still punitive in different spaces
Ponce de León defined 4 priorities for 2025 and past:
- Foster more potent public-private collaboration
- Spend money on analysis and construction
- Replace rules to enlarge criminal get right of entry to and make stronger consumer enjoy
- Combine Uruguay into international markets thru moral and sustainable business
What’s Subsequent?
Uruguay did what many nations are nonetheless debating. It constructed a criminal hashish device that reduces hurt, shrinks the illicit marketplace and respects shopper rights. The results are measurable. So are the gaps.
In Ponce de León’s phrases:
“The certain have an effect on is confirmed. But when the framework isn’t up to date, if get right of entry to doesn’t enlarge and innovation isn’t assured, the style dangers changing into symbolic quite than purposeful.”
As the sector displays at the legacy of José “Pepe” Mujica, Uruguay’s hashish experiment stays a part of his lasting imprint on historical past. The street forward will decide whether or not that legacy deepens or stalls.
By the use of El Planteo
Photograph via Jared Schwitzke on Unsplash.
