Uruguay Begins Debate Over Legalizing Production of Marijuana

If approved, the bill, unveiled in June 2012 as part of a series of measures to combat rising violence, will head to the Senate for passage.

"The regulation is not meant to promote consumption, consumption already exists," lawmaker Sebastian Sabini, who helped draft the legislation, said at the beginning of the session.

President Jose Mujica has backed the bill.

"What we would be doing is regulating a legal activity in our country. The other option encourages users to go to the black market, go to an area where drugs are being sold, and come into contact with substances that are more dangerous, harmful to health and cause more physical dependence," Sabini said.

Under current law, possession of marijuana for personal use is permitted in Uruguay, although it is up to judges to determine what quantity is considered appropriate for personal use.

Sabini stressed that the drug business "finances organized crime and illicit activities such as trafficking in persons, arms sales and money laundering."

"It does not mean we have to stop fighting drug trafficking, it means that drug trafficking must be fought in meaningful ways; not by fighting the user who has 40 grams in his pocket," Sabini told the legislature.

The bill specifies that the government would assume control and regulation of the importation, planting, cultivation, harvesting, production, acquisition, storage, marketing and distribution of marijuana and its derivatives.

Those using the drug would be able to cultivate up to six plants, gain access to the drug as part of a marijuana-growing club or purchase up to 40 grams per month at a dispensary.

The bill will be voted on after a long negotiating process within the president's left-leaning Frente Amplio (FA) party, which has a small parliamentary majority. The measure is rejected by all opposition parties.

Source-AFP

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Does the Health Care Debate Feel Familiar?

Today it is Obamacare which is going through the same sort of odds -The Affordable Care Act will undergo the same and more criticism than Medicare before it hopefully becomes popular and comes to stay. In 1960, Peter A. Corning a journalist and student of New York University evolved Medicare while under contract with the Social Security Administration.

There were a number of debates ranging over the years - about health care for the elderly, proposals abounded right from the 1950's through the 1960s' in the quest for a suitable compromise. Though President John F. Kennedy acknowledged the need of care for the aged, he could not do much till after the mid-term elections in 1962. Opposition forces - mainly the American Medical Association launched a challenge against this act by launching pamphlets, radio and TV Commercials along with speeches.

Insurance companies and the nonprofit Blue Cross Association joined the melee by developing low cost insurance programs for the elderly. There were continued debates and surprisingly business also opposed the government using the chamber of commerce for insurance. There were so many defeats that Medicare supporters became pessimistic and felt that Medicare was a lost cause.

At the same time medical costs were rising steeply, as a result private insurance was exorbitant - only 1 in every 4 elderly people had insurance. This scenario also meant that "hospitals were not being reimbursed adequately for the cost of treating elderly patients, (so) there was a tendency to load the cost of 'charity' care onto the paying customers and their insurance carriers ... " (Sound familiar?) This cost-shifting problem led to strong support from American hospitals for Medicare - and it's the same reason they support Obama's reforms today.

By 1965 the need for a program was becoming clear; with a decrease in personal income and high medical costs the Medicare program had found its place. This reminds one of Obamacare - one will need to wait and see if it becomes as integral a part of America's Medicare after a few years?

References:

Hannah Punitha (IRDA Licence Number: 2710062)

Janet Pearson, June 2013

Source-Medindia

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