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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Uruguay govt wants to sell cannabis
Sky News Thursday 21 Jun 2012 Under the plan, only the government would be allowed to sell cannabis and only to adults who register on a government database when buying the drug. Minister of Defence Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro told reporters at a press conference in Montevideo on Wednesday that the aim was to weaken criminals by removing profits from drug dealers and diverting users from harder drugs. He said a proposed law would be debated in congress soon. Media reports have said that people who use more than a limited number of cannabis cigarettes would have to undergo drug rehabilitation. Profits from cigarettes would go to rehabilitating addicts. Possession of cannabis for personal use has never been criminalised in the South American country. A 1974 law gives judges discretion to determine if the amount of cannabis found on a suspect is for legal personal use or for illegal dealing. Some drug rehabilitation experts disagree with the planned law. Guillermo Castro, head of psychiatry at a Montevideo hospital, says cannabis is a gateway to stronger drugs. 'In the long-run, cannabis is still poison,' Castro said adding that it contained more carcinogens than tobacco and its use was linked to depression. Uruguay is among the safest countries in Latin America, but recent gang shootouts and rising cocaine use have raised security concerns and taken a toll on the already dipping popularity of leftist President Jose Mujica. The interior ministry says from January to May, the number of homicides jumped to 133 from 76 in the same period last year. Overburdened by clogged prisons, some Latin American countries have relaxed penalties for drug possession and personal use and distanced themselves from the tough stance pushed by the United States four decades ago when the Richard Nixon administration declared war on drugs. http://www.skynews.com.au/offbeat/article.aspx?id=763353&vId=
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