Uruguay sets path for Canada on marijuana legalization within international treaties

Canada and Uruguay must comply with three United Nations drug-control treaties, to which each is a party
The Canadian Press (Canada)
Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Uruguay‘s envoy to Ottawa says his small South American country has opened up some breathing room for marijuana legalization within international treaties that have outlawed recreational pot for decades. Uruguay's ambassador Martin Vidal says the challenging task has forced Uruguay to put its international credibility on the line – but he insists there have been small signs of movement. “We see not that the tide is turning, but the international community’s allowing this issue to be part of the discussion,” Vidal said at Uruguay’s embassy in Ottawa. Vidal credits his country, the first to legalize recreational cannabis at a national level, as something of a trailblazer for countries like Canada that are planning to embark on the same path.