Legal Cannabis, 10 Years Later: Real Data From The First Country To Do It
By Javier Hasse via El Planteo
As debates over cannabis reform continue across the globe, one country has a full decade of experience to draw from—and it just lost the man who helped make it happen.
This week, José “Pepe” Mujica, the former Uruguayan president who oversaw the world’s first full legalization of adult-use cannabis, passed away at the age of 89. Widely revered for his humility, progressive ideals and radical honesty, Mujica’s cannabis law was never about business; it was about dismantling hypocrisy and improving public health.
A decade later, the legacy of that 2013 law was front and center at C-Days 2025, a global cannabis and psychedelics summit held in Barcelona. Speaking at the event, Mercedes Ponce de León, founder of Latinnabis and director of Expo Cannabis Uruguay, offered a data-rich overview of Uruguay’s cannabis model: its results, its limits and what it can teach the rest of the world.
Three Legal Channels, Over 100,000 Registered Consumers
Uruguay’s adult-use system offers three legal pathways for non-medical cannabis access:
- Home grow: Up to …