Uruguay records to the first cultivators of legal marijuana

Marijuana growers of Uruguay come from days ago in a slow drip to post offices to legalize their status. Until last Friday, there were 54 students enrolled in the electronic file provided by the Government. At the same time, the companies that aspire to grow to large-scale grass present their proposals. To date have been pointed out to the public contest 22 companies - Uruguayan eight, ten and four foreign joint capital-. Will Be selected up to five, which will license for five years (renewable) and will have to produce more than one ton of marijuana per year.

The autocultivo is one of the pillars of the law, which also provides for the authorization to the creation of marijuana clubs, and has as point more novel the controlled sale of the substance in pharmacies, which could begin to assert at the beginning of 2015. At that time expected a sharp influx to the records because the autocultivo is limited to consumers with a dedication and space for plants. Registered growers may have up to six cannabis plants in their homes and must renew their license every three years. The employee at a post office of the neighborhood of Pocitos, in Montevideo, estimated that every day arrive about six people to carry out the procedure. The requirements are to introduce an identity document and an invoice that shows the place of domicile of the applicant. This worker said surprised by "how easy and natural that is proving" the process. "The most curious thing is that most of the people who come are above 60 years," he adds. There are no statistics on the age of the autocultivadores, a clandestine world that includes many generations. But the National Federation of the Cannabicultores of Uruguay confirms that the first to take advantage of the legislative change are still the consumers throughout life, those who have plants for years, have always been at the mercy of a complaint on their illicit activity and even have known the prison.

The company's business model that aspire to produce cannabis is novel on a global scale. The Government appreciates the initial investment of more than a million dollars. The return will depend on the selling price to be determined by the authorities. "Our group is composed by Uruguayan businessmen linked to the agribusiness, who have knowledge of protected crops (in the greenhouse), with 40 years of experience as growers," says Rafael Runnitz, who works in one of the companies that have been submitted to the tender, and that requests not to mention the name of the business. The company handles several scenarios of profitability. If the Government sets the gram of marijuana to 0.6 cents on the dollar, it would be possible to recover the investment within 10 to 14 months, says Runnitz. The objective of the authorities is to keep prices below the rates of the black market. One of the concerns of this sector is the safety. There is the fear of attacks by the drug trafficking, in such a way that some proposals include the transportation of marijuana in armoured trucks as those who take the money from the banks.