Uruguay has selected two companies backed by local and foreign investors to grow recreational pot for distribution in the South American country’s pharmacies.

Simbiosys SA and Iccorp were among a short list of 11 companies including Canadian medical marijuana producer Tilray that bid for licenses to grow as much as two tons of pot a year.

Simbiosys, whose investors are Uruguayans and Argentines, could invest as much as $2 million in its operations, Gaston Rodriguez, a company partner, said in a telephone interview Friday.

"It’s a historic change in a country that is very conservative in some aspects," said Rodriguez, a 43-year-old industrial design professor. "Uruguay has taken up the challenge of proposing a different way to fight drug trafficking."

Uruguayan authorities made a major announcement on October 1, laying out plans for the biggest step yet in the country’s efforts to regulate all levels of the cannabis market: cultivation for commercial sales. Officials revealed that two companies have been selected to grow cannabis for sale in pharmacies. The first commercial offerings will likely be available to registered consumers in about 8 months, or mid-year 2016.

Two companies have obtained licenses from the Uruguayan government to cultivate marijuana, the country's National Drug Board said Thursday.

"Twenty-two proposals were presented ... and two licenses for production and distribution were given out," Juan Andres Roballo, head of the National Drug Board, said at a news conference.

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Marijuana pioneer Uruguay said on Thursday it had granted licenses to two companies to grow the plant for commercial distribution, adding that the pot should go on sale in pharmacies next year.

The South American country was the world's first to legalize the cultivation and distribution of marijuana, aiming to wrest control of the trade from drug gangs while regulating and even taxing its consumption.

But the novelty of the endeavor has thrown up challenges preventing the government from meeting its own deadlines in implementing legislation passed nearly two years ago. The country originally planned to distribute licenses a year ago.

“We can regulate these markets without a prohibitionist stance,” Vazquez said.
​Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez defended his country's “sovereign” decisions over public health and slammed the multinational tobacco industry, which he said “in order to double its profits doesn't have any problem in killing its customers.”

During his speech before the UN General Assembly, Tuesday, Vazquez singled out Phillip Morris for suing Uruguay over the country's anti-smoking campaign. The company is suing Uruguay for US$25 million under a bilateral investment treaty between Uruguay and Switzerland.

“It is not ethical that tribunals of multinational organizations can give priorities to trade aspects over the defense of fundamental human rights,” said Vazquez.

Montevideo |

Researchers at the University of the Republic (Udelar) of Uruguay are studying the medicinal properties of cannabis and preparing the inclusion of a specific discipline on the subject to be integrated into the curriculum of the medical course starting next year.

This team looks to see the benefits of the components of marijuana in treating pain, nausea and vomiting, epilepsy, Parkinson's, lack of appetite, anorexia caused by chemotherapy or in patients with HIV, and other diseases and symptoms in addition to finding possible hexes.

In 2013, Uruguay took the unprecedented step of legalizing the production and use of marijuana. Yet, two years on, a commercial market is still in the project stage: not a single gram of cannabis has been cultivated for sale in pharmacies. The process is mired in complex regulatory details. It seems that legalizing marijuana is more complicated than anyone had predicted.

Any discussion about transnational organized crime almost inevitably includes the trade in illicit drugs. A 2011 analysis by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found that illicit drugs constitute the largest income source for transnational crime, accounting for about half of transnational crime proceeds, and one-fifth of all crime proceeds. The UNODC has estimated the value of the 2003 global illicit drugs market to be US$322 billion— higher than the GDP that year of 88 percent of the world’s countries.

As cannabis legalization continues to spread across the globe, a new type of traveling has been gaining momentum: cannabis travel destinations, where you can get in some much-needed rest and relaxation time without giving up your green. Cannabis-friendly booking places (such as Bud And Breakfast) have been popping up to provide everything you could possibly need for your cannabis-inclusive vacation, from picturesque views to rental hosts that supply you with the buds you need to supplement your stay.

If you are in the international market for marijuana, your legal options are limited. Though the cultivation of pot is widespread across the world, its legal status has only just begun to shift, with some countries choosing to decriminalize the substance and others loosening up enforcement regulations for users and growers.

The plant can grow just about anywhere, making it generally accessible to the global population, and, subsequently, one of the most commonly used illicit substances everywhere from the Americas to Europe. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, there are more than 177 million cannabis users globally.