各國紛紛觀望這個南美洲小國，究竟能否藉此打擊毒品相關犯罪。
大力推動此法案的總統穆西卡坦言，
這是一項前所未有的社會實驗，不過此舉更重要的意義，
則是宣告了數十年來以美國為首的「毒品戰爭」已然失敗。
策劃、編譯■劉耘
烏拉圭通過合法產銷大麻的創舉，讓原本得藏身民宅的非法大麻種植產業，得以轉為合法產業，甚至能讓烏拉圭成為大麻出口國，提供目前數量相當稀少的醫療用大麻。
越來越多國家都正在設立醫療用大麻計畫，好讓末期病患舒緩病痛，並用於治療其他疾病。然而，全球合法的大麻來源實在少之又少，而烏拉圭正可填補這個供應相當吃緊的市場。
自烏拉圭輸出的大麻量，預計將在其國會10日通過的新法下迅速成長。新法允許每位烏拉圭市民每年在家種植最多6株大麻，集體農場能種植更多株。
許多烏拉瓜民眾多年來都偷偷種植大麻。烏拉圭自1974年起，就不再將私下購買吸食用大麻（或所有毒品）視為犯罪。不過，這個容納了330萬人的南美洲小國更進一步，成為世上第一個全面立法規範大麻產銷的國家。
待法律於120天後開始實施時，烏拉圭居民每月能從領有國家執照的藥局購買40公克大麻。政府將制定大麻價格、對販售者抽稅，並發許可證給量產者。
經核准的醫療用大麻若要出口，須種植於製藥廠所屬溫室中，並須符合進口國健康單位安全標準。
社會實驗 出現反效果就取消
烏拉圭政府預計，藥局販售的大麻初步定價為每公克1美元（約新台幣30元）。1公克大約能捲兩管大麻菸。
據估計，每公克大麻的成本介於0.2到0.5美元（約新台幣6元到15元）；也就是說，政府的定價提供了相當不錯的利潤給生產者，且售價也比黑市價還低。目前，黑市的大麻大多來自巴拉圭，每公克平均售價約1.4美元（約新台幣42元）。
現年78歲的烏拉圭左翼總統穆西卡曾是游擊隊成員。他坦言，大麻合法化法案是一項實驗，屆時若出現反結果，將取消這項法規。
成年居民且登記者 才可購買
批評者說，合法化將讓民眾增加大麻用量，導致民眾濫用毒性更強的毒品，並吸引世界各地的抽大麻者前來烏拉圭的藥局購買大麻。為了避免此情況，法規對大麻販售對象加以限制，只有烏拉圭成年居民得以購買，且這些民眾必須於政府資料庫登記為大麻使用者。
多數專家同意，合法化對烏拉圭產生的立即影響是，自巴拉圭走私進來的大麻將減少。這些走私者通常將大麻藏在卡車油箱中。
若烏拉圭能藉此成功減少毒品相關犯罪，將助長南美洲其他地區的大麻合法化呼聲。許多南美洲的領導者已經厭倦了由美國主導的「毒品戰爭」，也發現現行法規無力遏止當地毒品集團的勢力。
烏拉圭這項實驗也將助長美國大麻合法化的辯論中支持者的士氣。美國的華盛頓和俄勒岡州2012年通過合法種植及抽大麻的法案。
若法規奏效，烏拉圭將成為醫療用大麻的出口國，將大麻輸出至加拿大這類容許民眾因健康因素而用藥的國家。
2001年，加拿大成為第一個准許末期病患自行種植、吸食自種大麻的國家。
目前，能合法提供醫療用大麻的地區並不多。以色列是此領域的先鋒，但以色列僅提供國內病患；荷蘭雖允許領有執照的咖啡店販售大麻，但在貨源供應方面，僅有醫療用大麻的提供者是合法的，且定價為每公克12歐元（約新台幣489元）。（路透）
（圖說）烏拉圭民眾10日聚集在國會大樓外，參與一場「最後一次帶著非法大麻遊行」，國會當日稍晚便通過了大麻產銷合法法案。（圖文／路透）
Uruguay's pioneering move to legalize the planting and sale of marijuana （1） opens the door for a clandestine cottage industry of pot growers to transform into a legitimate business that could even export medical cannabis （2） , a commodity in short supply.
More and more countries are setting up medical marijuana programs to help relieve the pain of terminally-ill （3） patients and treat other health conditions, but there are few legal sources of the drug in the world and Uruguay could tap that tight market.
Uruguay's domestic marijuana output is expected to expand rapidly under a law that cleared Congress on Tuesday allowing its citizens to grow up to six plants a year in their homes and more in smoking collectives （4）.
Many have been doing this secretly for years. Smoking marijuana - and indeed the private consumption of all drugs - has not been a crime in Uruguay since 1974, but the small South American nation of 3.3 million people is now the world's first to fully regulate marijuana from cultivation to consumption.
When the law is implemented in 120 days, Uruguayan residents will be able to buy 40 grams a month over the counter at pharmacies licensed by the state, which will fix the price, tax the trade and issue permits for larger producers.
Licensed medical marijuana for export would have to be grown in greenhouses to pharmaceutical and security standards required by the health authorities of importing nations.
Uruguay's government plans to fix the price of marijuana sold in pharmacies at $1 a gram, which is roughly enough to roll two joints （5）.
With costs estimated at between 20 and 50 cents, the official price should provide growers a tidy margin and undercut the black market price for marijuana, which is mostly smuggled in from Paraguay and peddled at around $1.40 a gram on average.
Uruguay's leftist president, Jose Mujica, a 78-year-old former guerrilla fighter, has recognized that legalization is an experiment and says it will be reversed if it backfires.
Critics say it will increase marijuana use, lead to abuse with harder drugs and attract pot smokers from the world over looking to pick up the drug at Uruguayan pharmacies. To prevent that, the marijuana sales will be restricted to adult residents of Uruguay who must be registered as users on a government data base.
The immediate impact, most experts agree, will be to reduce the smuggling of Paraguayan marijuana into Uruguay, often thrown in bundles from planes or stashed in the fuel tanks of trucks.
Success in reducing drug-related crime in Uruguay would strengthen advocates of legalizing marijuana elsewhere in Latin America, where leaders have tired of the U.S.-led "war on drugs" and the failure to curb the power of the region's drug cartels.
The Uruguayan experiment could add momentum to the marijuana legalization debate in the United States, where the states of Washington and Oregon last year made it legal to grow and smoke pot.
If regulation works, Uruguay could become an exporter of medical marijuana to countries such as Canada that are allowing an expansion of the use of the drug for health reasons.
Canada became the first country to allow terminally ill patients to grow and smoke their own marijuana in 2001.
At present, there are few lawful jurisdictions that can supply medical marijuana. Israel is a pioneer in the field but only supplies its own patients. The Netherlands has for decades allowed licensed cafes to sell cannabis, but the supply side of the business is only legal for medical marijuana, sold at a fixed price of 12 euros a gram.（Reuters）
關鍵字詞
1.marijuana（n.）大麻
2.cannabis（n.）大麻
3.terminally-ill（adj.）病症末期
4.collective（n.）集體農場
5.joint（n.）一捲大麻煙