“We ask for your patience and understanding while we manage to adapt supply to demand.” : in a press release published last week and highlighted, in particular, on the radio website 970 Station Wagon, The Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA) has tried to reassure Uruguayan consumers.

He cited inventory problems at pharmacies authorized to sell marijuana – there are currently 37 in the country. And he highlighted the doubling of sales at pharmacies since the approval late last year of a new strain called “gamma” with a THC level of 15%. when the other two, “alpha” and “beta”, contain only 9%.

After the first law in 2013, which took time to pass, Uruguay in 2017 became the first country in the world to spread recreational marijuana use in three ways: in pharmacies, through personal cultures and through marijuana accession. club. Gold “As early as 2017, marijuana users registered at dispensaries complained that the product did not contain the amount of THC they wanted to produce an enhanced effect.” writes a correspondent in MontevideoInformation. For the first five months of the year, an Argentine website writes:

“Marijuana sales reached 1,460 kilograms, which is 712 kilograms more than the same period last year.”

Government controls production and quality

And according to IRCAA, from 85 to 90% of pharmacy sales now come from “gamma”, the figures significantly exceed forecasts, hence the supply problems. It is the government that controls the production, quality, legal weekly consumption and prices of marijuana – the latter of which have only slightly increased by 1 year.uh in August last year. Packages of 5 grams of “gamma” have thus risen in price from 450 to 460 pesos, or a little more than 11 euros. Regardless of the THC content, pharmacies sell packages with health warnings, just like cigarettes.

“The government is satisfied with the success of the Gamma variety,” continues Information, because it helps prevent consumers from turning to the illegal market,” which, moreover, was the main goal of liberalization. Purchasing from dispensaries is by far the most popular among consumers, with around 62,300 registered, while cannabis clubs only have just over 10,000 members.