Uruguay: Legal pot user registration and prevention campaign
The “Regular is responsible” campaign, which includes a number of advertisements, audiovisual pieces and other measures to raise awareness about the dangers of pot use also provides information about the procedure for registering to buy cannabis in pharmacies, the sale of which is scheduled to begin in June.
A Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/irccaUy – and a Website – http://www.infocannabis.gub.uy/ – have also been created to provide all the available information to the public.
The information is available starting Tuesday on the Web pages of the Cannabis Regulation and Control Institute (Ircca) and the Presidency of the Republic, and it will also be disseminated via media outlets and in public.
All the audiovisual pieces inform people about the risks of marijuana consumption, including the way in which the drug alters one’s perception, senses and reflexes, the fact that it limits the ability to concentrate and can cause illness and psychological problems, as well as the accentuated risks of its use by children and pregnant women.
In addition, with regular citizens and certain personalities such as singer Jorge Drexler, the campaign seeks to illustrate the benefits of regulating the marijuana market – which include fighting against illegal drug trafficking, unrestricted sales points and money laundering – and to eliminate criminal activity targeting consumers, not to mention the violence associated with the lucrative illegal drug trade.
Another video discusses the requirements for registering to buy marijuana in pharmacies when legal sales begin, emphasizing the anonymous and secure way that people can register.
A total of 65 post offices around the country have been equipped to start registering people who want to sign up to be legal pot purchasers.
Legal buyers must be over 18, be Uruguayan citizens and have permanent residence in the country. To verify these requirements, applicants must present their identity document and proof of residence.
Another requirement is that people may not already be registered as either a domestic grower of marijuana or a member of a cannabis club, given that acquiring marijuana via more than one avenue is prohibited.
When consumers arrive at a pharmacy to purchase their allotment of legal pot, their fingerprints will be compared against the national secure database and – if the prints were placed on file when the person originally registered, as must be done – that person will be allowed to buy a quantity of pot without providing any other proof of identity.
EFE |
