Cannabis is now allowed to be sold within pharmacies in Uruguay, but some business locations are wary about getting involved in the market. Those who are nervous to start selling the plant out of their shops say that one of the reasons is that they believe that it will make their store a bigger target for thieves and other criminals. Many pharmacists within the country have yet to get involved with the government’s cannabis program, stating that security concerns are among the problems, along with concerns for cost increases, and more.
Uruguay is just one of a number of countries in the world that have made the move to legalize the cultivation and sale of cannabis, they made the move to legalize it there back in 2013. Thus far, only roughly 50 out of 1,200 pharmacies have registered that they are going to be disbursing cannabis to their clients. Those who are reluctant to get started say that they don’t want to start any confrontation with those who might already be selling the cannabis in their neighborhoods.
One pharmacist stated that pharmacies were “created to sell medicines, not drugs….” and that would be his reasoning for refusing to begin selling cannabis to clients, even if the plant would benefit them medically. Others say that they sell “all legal drugs” from their store and cannabis now qualifies as a legal drug and so they see no reason with not selling it from their establishment. It is likely that more will sign up for the program in the future, especially if they see success for the pharmacies that have already opted to do so.
Currently cannabis is selling in the country for about $1 a gram which is roughly equivalent to the street rate it fetches when it is imported from Paraguay. In Uruguay, private citizens are allowed to cultivate up to six plants in their homes and they can also choose to form private grow clubs that would allow them to produce more.