Legal Weed in Uruguay

This has been in the works for awhile. Actually Latin American Countries have been talking, about and planning on decriminalizing drugs used for personal consumption for some time. Not necessarily a government run business like Uruguay is planning on, but imagine if Uruguay follows through there will be a snowball effect across all L.A. Countries.

j600rr wrote:

This has been in the works for awhile. Actually Latin American Countries have been talking, about and planning on decriminalizing drugs used for personal consumption for some time. Not necessarily a government run business like Uruguay is planning on, but imagine if Uruguay follows through there will be a snowball effect across all L.A. Countries.

It would surprise me in countries that have such a large majority of Catholics, but when billions of dollars are involved, nothing should be surprising I guess.

mugtech wrote:

It would surprise me in countries that have such a large majority of Catholics, but when billions of dollars are involved, nothing should be surprising I guess.

If a bill to legalize marijuana were proposed in Ecuador, it would be interesting to see which way Correa jumped. While he is very much to the left on economics, he is also well to the right on social issues -- strongly against abortion and going so far as to threaten resignation recently when some members of his party advocated for a gay marriage bill. His positions on those issues are based, I have read, on his strong Catholicism. So he would seem likely to oppose any sort of drug legalization.

On the other hand, he seems to like nothing better than to thumb his nose at the US, which might incline him to support it.

Could be fun to watch, but my guess is that it's unlikely to happen soon in Ecuador -- but who knows?

I started a thread on the Uruguay forum just like this one, but I was told that for legal and security reasons it was shut down.  Seems ridiculous that one cannot announce on the Uruguay forum what laws were recently passed in Uruguay. I was not judgmental, just asked the folks on there what they thought.

mugtech wrote:

I started a thread on the Uruguay forum just like this one, but I was told that for legal and security reasons it was shut down.  Seems ridiculous that one cannot announce on the Uruguay forum what laws were recently passed in Uruguay. I was not judgmental, just asked the folks on there what they thought.

That is befuddling. Maybe they were worried it would devolve into a pissing match.

mugtech wrote:

I started a thread on the Uruguay forum just like this one, but I was told that for legal and security reasons it was shut down.  Seems ridiculous that one cannot announce on the Uruguay forum what laws were recently passed in Uruguay. I was not judgmental, just asked the folks on there what they thought.

What is this supposed to be a hush-hush topic or something? Personally don't care if drugs are legalized, or if certain ones remain illegal, but depending on what your thoughts are regarding the subject it could be something that persuades or dissuades someone from moving to a particular place. Some reason it's like anything that can have a direct effect on our lives we're just supposed to close our eyes to it, and pretend the subject doesn't even exist.

Nards Barley wrote:

mugtech wrote:

I started a thread on the Uruguay forum just like this one, but I was told that for legal and security reasons it was shut down.  Seems ridiculous that one cannot announce on the Uruguay forum what laws were recently passed in Uruguay. I was not judgmental, just asked the folks on there what they thought.

That is befuddling. Maybe they were worried it would devolve into a pissing match.

Maybe
Mine was the only post, and it was down in a few minutes.  I wrote a PM to the 27 year old newbie censor, who had informed me via PM what up, and asked why? 10 hours ago, no response yet.

mugtech wrote:

Nards Barley wrote:

mugtech wrote:

I started a thread on the Uruguay forum just like this one, but I was told that for legal and security reasons it was shut down.  Seems ridiculous that one cannot announce on the Uruguay forum what laws were recently passed in Uruguay. I was not judgmental, just asked the folks on there what they thought.

That is befuddling. Maybe they were worried it would devolve into a pissing match.

Maybe
Mine was the only post, and it was down in a few minutes.  I wrote a PM to the 27 year old newbie censor, who had informed me via PM what up, and asked why? 10 hours ago, no response yet.

"Legal and security" reasons to shut it down.Hmmm..Let us know if he answers you.

suefrankdahl wrote:

mugtech wrote:

Nards Barley wrote:

That is befuddling. Maybe they were worried it would devolve into a pissing match.

Maybe
Mine was the only post, and it was down in a few minutes.  I wrote a PM to the 27 year old newbie censor, who had informed me via PM what up, and asked why? 10 hours ago, no response yet.

"Legal and security" reasons to shut it down.Hmmm..Let us know if he answers you.

He is a she, will let you know.

A post was made by Julien on the "Filipino's who have a bad attitude when they marry a foreigner" thread on the Philippines forum.  Check it out.  He apologized for the the mistake made and also for the closing of that thread on the Philippines forum.  That was as much as I expected.  Funny thing, the Uruguay forum is almost lifeless, the few postings I read were about how much cheaper it is to live in Ecuador!!  All's well that ends well.

Yeah, there are a couple moderators on these forums that seem to get a little over zealous, but in my opinion, it's better than the mess that would quickly evolve on the forums if they had no moderation.

I think there is almost no chance of Ecuador legalizing recreational drugs. Though, they did just relax the rules on ibuprophin. You can now buy it without a prescription.

At the risk of confusing the issue with information ...

Uruguay's marijuana laws do not permit underage use, NOR participation by non-citizens in order to "nip pot tourism in the bud" [pun intended, of course]

   Carlos  "ElGringoHippy'o  "

PS  Oregon is anticipating legalizing recreational use in the 2014 elections.  Interestingly, it won't be through the "initiative" process [Oregon was the 2nd state {after S. Dakota} to create a system of citizen "initiative" petitions and legislative "referendums"  in order for the populace to have a direct impact on specific legal issues.   Some Oregon legislators have already drafted a proposed "referendum" for voters in 2014.  At this point, it appears to be more akin to Colorado than Washington. 

PPS  Washington is in for a rude awakening.  In order for their new laws to be politically viable, there is an "outsized" expectation of big tax revenues with "outsized" taxes, fees and other imposed costs of production, distribution, etc. including a hefty user tax in addition to the normal sales tax.  Rest assured that they've pretty much assured a continuing black market.

GringoBueno wrote:

At the risk of confusing the issue with information ...

Uruguay's marijuana laws do not permit underage use, NOR participation by non-citizens in order to "nip pot tourism in the bud" [pun intended, of course]

   Carlos  "ElGringoHippy'o  "

PS  Oregon is anticipating legalizing recreational use in the 2014 elections.  Interestingly, it won't be through the "initiative" process [Oregon was the 2nd state {after S. Dakota} to create a system of citizen "initiative" petitions and legislative "referendums"  in order for the populace to have a direct impact on specific legal issues.   Some Oregon legislators have already drafted a proposed "referendum" for voters in 2014.  At this point, it appears to be more akin to Colorado than Washington. 

PPS  Washington is in for a rude awakening.  In order for their new laws to be politically viable, there is an "outsized" expectation of big tax revenues with "outsized" taxes, fees and other imposed costs of production, distribution, etc. including a hefty user tax in addition to the normal sales tax.  Rest assured that they've pretty much assured a continuing black market.

Not trying to get political or off topic, but in regards to certain States in the U.S., and the choice to legalize and tax, or not, aren't the drug laws still a federal government issue? I mean couldn't agents at the federal level still go into any State that has legalized, and still bust an individual, or business  for breaking the drug laws on the books at the federal level?

Way off topic but what I read down here in the Statesman is that a Board is just being formed for writng of legislation including pharmacists, lawyers, tax specialists and some specialists.

j600rr wrote:

Not trying to get political or off topic, but in regards to certain States in the U.S., and the choice to legalize and tax, or not, aren't the drug laws still a federal government issue? I mean couldn't agents at the federal level still go into any State that has legalized, and still bust an individual, or business  for breaking the drug laws on the books at the federal level?

yes, just like the feds sometimes bust folks in Cali even though they are complying with the state regulations. The feds will still occationally feel the need to show that they aren't impotent.

GringoBueno wrote:

Uruguay's marijuana laws do not permit underage use, NOR participation by non-citizens in order to "nip pot tourism in the bud"

AND YOU THINK THAT WILL STOP TOURISTS FROM LIGHTING UP?  Once there are people walking around with legal weed, then the sky's the limit.  This is why most doubt it will ever happen in Ecuador.

BTW, things have changed at the federal level as well [tho' no new laws at this point] ...

For those who really want to know what's going on, info is all over the internet.  You might want to start with NORML's website as that is their "bailiwick" ... and is focused on legal issues rather than commercial interests.

For those who just want to "troll and pontificate", knowledge isn't really required, just hot air ...

   Carlos  aka "ElGringoSpliffo"   

PS  Sue, while they might have "committee(s)" already established to research related issues, no "boards" would be established until the legislation passes (whether by initiative petition or legislative referenda" ...

PPS  In the meantime, I think I'll go "burn one" and reflect upon all you poor folks down there in SA "worrying" about those Marijuana Murderers and Misfits, etc. about to wash over Uruguay and spill over into Ecuador {perish the thought, Martha]      heh-heh-heh!   

GringoBueno wrote:

BTW, things have changed at the federal level as well [tho' no new laws at this point] ...

For those who really want to know what's going on, info is all over the internet.  You might want to start with NORML's website as that is their "bailiwick" ... and is focused on legal issues rather than commercial interests.

For those who just want to "troll and pontificate", knowledge isn't really required, just hot air ...

   Carlos  aka "ElGringoSpliffo"   

PS  Sue, while they might have "committee(s)" already established to research related issues, no "boards" would be established until the legislation passes (whether by initiative petition or legislative referenda" ...

PPS  In the meantime, I think I'll go "burn one" and reflect upon all you poor folks down there in SA "worrying" about those Marijuana Murderers and Misfits, etc. about to wash over Uruguay and spill over into Ecuador {perish the thought, Martha]      heh-heh-heh!   

FYI that's why it didn't pass last election. Legislation not going to happen till they have all their ducks in a row on how they are going to regulate it. Maybe they'll have it together to put it on ballot for next election. Not my opinion I live in the Capitol, I read the paper. Frankly I don't care one way or another. What has this got to do with Uruguay or Ecuador anyway?
Maybe you've burned a few too many.

Have I already mentioned that politics are not really welcome on expat.com ?

I'll just post a quick reminder :

there are two things that we don't really like discussing about on Expat.com : religion and politics.

We are not qualified for discussing about politics here, and we clearly don't want to become qualified for these two personal matters.

So please, no more politically-oriented threads on the forum (we won't hesitate to close threads)

Thanks in advance for your comprehension,

Julien

I say close it. Who cares anyway.

Julien like Yahoo and the articles I think we should be able to be educated adults and talk about our points of view on Expat.  I come here with an open mind and hope to listen and grow.  I have changed my vote often.  I think you are being a little old fashion and unflexable and that is funny because I am a lot lot lot older then you my dear Julien no matter what founder you need to tell us you are. 
I liked the fact that Yahoo debated the article about President Obama's selfie at the funeral it was interesting to read what 6900 different comments from some young kids thought I loved sharing their points of view it was mentally stimulating and some had some good points of view.
Julien the world is changing and you are going over everything we say salute and if you you you don't like it delete.  I meet some people who said they didn't like your site because you stop them from expressing themselves so they quit and you have the same people all the time.  Thank you.

I think the point is, and has been in the past, that this is not the place to discuss the politics of the USA.  As was mentioned, there are places for that, but this is not one of those places.

I agree that people should be able to say whatever they want but the point of expat-blog is supposed to be about give and take of information between expats and those wanting to expatriate.No?

Being a moderator is a pretty thankless job. This forum/blog doesn't seem to get into the flame wars, and nastiness that other forums do. Opinions certainly differ, but other than from time to time where a few nasty things are said everyone tries to articulate their point in a fairly diplomatic and well thought out manner.

I respect the fact that the moderators want to keep out politics, and religion as tends to be a hot topic that only leads to shouting back and forth.

My question is where is the line drawn? While I know not everyone on this forum is American, many are. The politics of the U.S. will have an effect, either directly, or indirectly for many people on this forum. It's almost impossible to discuss any topic in detail with out having politics come into the equation one way or the other. If we are qualified or not to understand them really doesn't change the fact that they still affect us, and we have to decide exactly what or how we want to proceed with current regulations, and new regulations that will be implemented in the near future.

j600rr wrote:

My question is where is the line drawn? While I know not everyone on this forum is American, many are. The politics of the U.S. will have an effect, either directly, or indirectly for many people on this forum. It's almost impossible to discuss any topic in detail with out having politics come into the equation one way or the other. If we are qualified or not to understand them really doesn't change the fact that they still affect us, and we have to decide exactly what or how we want to proceed with current regulations, and new regulations that will be implemented in the near future.

It is sometimes a fine line to weigh what is going on in the USA and how does that influence expats and potential expats.  It is probably a stretch to include comparing how different states are handling pot laws unless some changes have been discussed or presented in Ecuador.  I mentioned Uruguay because of the physical proximity, the potential domino effect for all of Latin America.  Since most USA citizens maintain their citizenship and therefore their world wide income tax obligation, then changes in tax laws that affect residents of Ecuador would be relevant, but not Obamacare, since anyone living overseas, whether covered or not locally, is not required to pay any non-coverage penalties. I do believe most contributors to this form have strove to keep info relevant to expats and Ecuador.

Insomnia sucks. Anyway, should probably try to express myself more clearly. Wasn't necessarily talking solely about this topic. There have been other threads as well. Some things are pretty blatantly out of line regarding the rules of this blog. Am guilty of crossing that line myself on several occasions. Other times have seen posts deleted, and threads closed for what to me seems pretty harmless opinions where politics is only mentioned in regards to some law, or something similar where it fits into the conversation. Doesn't really seem to me many of the posts that have some political connotations were by someone trying to push his beliefs, or agendas, or even trying to start up a political debate.

This thread as an example. I was just asking the questions about the federal and state laws because was curious. Didn't have any ulterior motive. Suppose am just a bit confused as to what constitutes crossing the line.

Have rambled on more than I should, so will shut up, and keep quiet on this thread from now on.

What site is where you can be an American Expat? please tell me
smmr

Mugtech I know you can read articles and comment on Yahoo articles written in a lot of papers in the states and then people comment on them 1000 and 1000 and some use so many four letter words and everything they want to say about politics or anything they want to say obviously but are their any other sites like that it is very interesting.  The articles some are good some are not my type and some it is just interesting to  see different points of view and they are slanted in all different directions wow.
Mugtect a got video in front a interview of people along the boardwalk in California they stopped about 15 different people to ask them if they would sign the form President Obama endorced this man and sign this form to have a communist run for President named Karl Marks well I was laughing and laughing.  I thought only in California would this happen.  The man with the mic was even having trouble not laughing himself.  Person after person signed happily.  Couples with children signed....oh my God, this is the trouble the voters the people it finally got down to an old Senior couple with grey hair and could hardly walk me and he said "Where is the camera" Hello someone woke up".  It was so funny.  It took a senior bravo.  They have drive so many seniors out of American that is why I am in Cuenca Ecuador because of Obamacare but I left early I knew it was coming worse.  But the video just was sheep.  I thought they must be on drugs.  Funny.  Lots of legal Weed in Califfornia.  Hello

Hi guys,

as we often mention, religion and politics aren't really welcome on expat-blog.com.

As for discussing about life in the USA, well, our USA forum is here : https://www.expat.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=448

Hello Julien,
Remember the old adage: Damned if you do, Damned if you don't"?
I have gotten a spanking from the mods on occasion, understood it wasn't my house, and accepted it. I actually understood the reason for it. But, sometimes, emotions run high.
Being a large group of people, with many divergent views and backgrounds, I personally think the mod's do a very good job of regulating the site, with a not too heavy hand. Others may see it differently. As I said, we a divergent group.
Thanks for doing a pretty much thankless job.
Stay Well,
ZenSPIKE

Uruguay has finally designated two companies -- small URU-based start-ups -- to grow marijuana for future legal sale.

The weed will go on-sale in pharmacies throughout the country by mid-2016, about 2-and-a-half years after the legal-pot law was passed in Uruguay.

The marijuana will be grown near a prison outside Libertad, Uruguay, according to local media reports, under the supervision of the URU Interior Ministry.

Source... globalpost.com

cccmedia in Quito