Rate Of Legal Cannabis Buyers Continues To Increase In Uruguay

Uruguay became the first nation on earth to adopt a national adult-use cannabis legalization law back in 2013. The first legal recreational sales were launched in registered pharmacies in Uruguay in 2017. Since that time, the number of adults making legal purchases in Uruguay has increased considerably.

“The number of legal marijuana buyers rose to some 102,156 people over the course of last year, boosted by the market debut of the Epsilon variant, which has a higher THC content (20%), and was in high demand.” reported Ambito.

“The new, more potent variant debuted in October, and in the following two months alone, a total of 359 kilos were sold in pharmacies, more than what had been sold up to that point of Alpha or Beta, according to data provided by the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA).” the media outlet also reported in its local coverage.

When legal sales at pharmacies began in Uruguay in the summer of 2017, consumers could initially choose from two different strains. The two strains are named ‘Alpha’ and ‘Beta’, each with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels equal to or less than 9%, and cannabidiol (CBD) levels equal to or less than 3%.

Then, in 2022, Uruguay permitted a third option, ‘Gamma,’ which has a THC level of equal to or less than 15%, and CBD levels of equal to or less than 1%. Regulators in Uruguay then approved a fourth option that contains a higher level of THC than the other three options.

“The new variant has a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of equal to or less than 20% and a cannabidiol (CBD) content of equal to or less than 1%.” stated Latin America Reports in its local coverage at the time of the strain’s launch.

Currently, 74,583 adult consumers are reportedly registered to make legal recreational cannabis purchases from Uruguay’s 40 authorized pharmacies making sales. Additionally, a reported 15,796 adults are members of 460 cannabis clubs registered in Uruguay, and another 11,597 adults reportedly cultivate legal plants in their homes.

Uruguay’s legal cannabis companies exported over $3 million worth of medical cannabis products in the last year to such nations as Germany, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Uruguay’s export data is part of a report recently published by the Uruguay XXI Institute.