Uruguay Legalized Marijuana and the Crime Rate Has Plummetted

While politicians and advocates in the U.S. are pushing endlessly to try and legalize cannabis and minimize crime for their home states, the South American country of Uruguay has already fully legalized the plant and is seeing great results. Cannabis has been legal in Uruguay since last July and now citizens can grow the plant at home or buy it over the counter and never fear being taken for a criminal again. Since legalizing cannabis the country has experienced a drop in crime of 20% which is hugely significant. Adults can become members of cannabis clubs, where you can purchase a limited amount of cannabis, which require registration with local government and serve a maximum of 45 people. One major difference between Uruguay's law and ones around the U.S. is that Uruguayans can smoke cannabis in public, and so far Uruguayans want the program to develope even more.

Meanwhile, in the South American country of Uruguay, the sale and possession of marijuana has been legal since last July. Citizens there can grow their own marijuana and buy it over the counter without fear of arrest. So far, about the only major complaint about the law is that it doesn’t go far enough.

The most eye-popping result from Uruguay’s legal marijuana market has been the plunge in crime. Drug-related crime has dropped 20 percent in the country since marijuana became legal in 2017, according to Latin American news service Telesur.