Following Uruguay, Argentina takes step toward legalizing cannabis

The legalization of cannabis around the world took further steps during the 2020 U.S. elections, as another four American states voted to allow recreational adult use of the drug. Meanwhile, the landscape in Latin America is much further behind.

Uruguay is the only nation in the region to have fully legalized recreational and medicinal marijuana, with the only restrictions being placed on foreigners visiting the country. Possession is largely decriminalized in South America, but large parts of the Caribbean have strict cannabis laws, permitting neither use, possession, cultivation, or the medical application of the drug.

The latest change to this scenario comes in Argentina, after President Alberto Fernández issued a decree allowing citizens to grow their own cannabis plants at home for medicinal use and authorizing specific drugstores to sell cannabis-derived products such as oil, soap, and even personal lubricant. Argentinians may now sign up to the Cannabis Program Registry (Reprocann) to ensure permits for legal home growing.