In December 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana, passing laws promoted by then-President José Mujica designed to set up the world's first nationally controlled marijuana industry.

Under the new laws, Uruguayans earned the right to grow small amounts of marijuana for their own use. On a larger scale, the federal government would allow private licensed growers to produce weed that would then be sold in pharmacies to registered customers at a fixed-rate price said to be as low as a dollar per gram.

Uruguay’s President, José “Pepe” Mujica, also known as the “Pauper President” who famously drives a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle, is stepping down from office. The “world’s most humble president” donated 90 percent of his salary to charity and departed his presidency with a nearly 70 percent approval rating.

With all the news surrounding the U.S. cannabis industry lately, it can be easy to overlook the changing policies and growing marijuana-related markets around the world.

Consider Uruguay, for example: in 2013, former president José Mujica made history by passing legislation to completely legalize marijuana cultivation and consumption in the South American nation, making it the first country in the world to create a regulated cannabis market. Under this new law, individuals must register as self-growers and are limited to six marijuana plants apiece. They may also purchase up to forty grams of marijuana from pharmacies each month, but pharmacy sales have not started yet.

Working at a decidedly un-slackerly pace, employees are racing to get ready for the opening of the latest marijuana boutique to sprout up in pot-friendly Uruguay.

About 20 such stores have opened for business in Montevideo, the capital, in the past year and a half, since Uruguay became the first country in the world to not only legalize marijuana but create a regulated market for it.

"This is just the beginning. The market is wide open to everyone," said 34-year-old Marcelo Cabrera, one of the business partners behind the latest grow shop, Tu Jardin (Your Garden).

Despite the fact that drug stores in Uruguay have yet to start offering state-sanctioned cannabis, ancillary companies have started turning up, and more are wasing established on an ongoing basis.

One of the more popular business designs is store stores that sell house cultivation products, as it’s legal now to grow independently. There are at least 20 such stores in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, according to France 24. Their target market is the nation’s approximated 20,000 house growers.

Cannabis tourism is booming. Excited by the end of prohibition many travelers are choosing to spend their vacation dollars to experience cannabis where it’s legal and have fun while doing it. Entrepreneurs are popping up to serve that need. One of those entrepreneurs is with us today, Sean Roby of Bud and Breakfast. Welcome to CannaInsider Sean.

Sean: Hey Matt thanks for having me.

Matthew: Sure thing. Sean to give listeners a sense of geography, can you tell us where you’re located in the world today?

Sean: Sure, I live in Boulder, Colorado. Our website is international though. So I could be anywhere on the planet and still function pretty good.

Updates out of Uruguay suggest the long-awaited sale of recreational marijuana will now begin in 2016, a little over two years after the groundbreaking legislation was passed.

Speaking before an audience in Buenos Aires last month, Milton Romani, the secretary general of Uruguay's National Drugs Board (JND), stated that unfounded concerns President Tabare Vazquez would veto legislation legalizing cannabis were simply not true, and that the model for cultivating and dispensing marijuana for recreational use should come into force if not by Christmas 2015, then soon after, reported Cronica.

A WA-based metal explorer says it has made a significant step towards breaking into the big-money world of medicinal marijuana production.

Former gold miner International Goldfields Limited recently moved to acquire 85 per cent of cannabis biosciences specialist Winter Garden Biosciences, which has been given approvals and licenses by the Uruguayan government to start planting its first crop.

IGS director David Tasker said Winter Garden now had the ability to import any varieties of hemp or cannabis, without having restrictions on how much it can grow.

The company will eventually manufacture synthetics, patches and tablets for both medicinal and recreational use.

When Uruguay became the first country to legalise cannabis two years ago under the leadership of the eccentric former guerrilla, José “Pepe” Mujica, the world took notice of this tiny republic that was once just another province of what is today Argentina.

Long known as the Switzerland of South America and as a reliable centre for offshore banking, Uruguay’s sober reputation as the most stable democracy in a region better known for its extravagance and volatility was shaken up by Mr Mujica, whose nonconformism and outlandish remarks frequently raised eyebrows.