Uruguay Becomes First Country To Legalize Marijuana

[Michelle420]

Late Tuesday night, a small Latin American country voted to become the first in the world to legalize the sale and distribution of marijuana.

Just as twin referendums in Colorado and Washington last year signaled the beginning of a state-based movement to legalize weed in the U.S., drug reform activists hope Uruguay's decision will spur other countries to do the same.

"I think it's a fatal blow to the already dying war on drugs," said Hannah Hetzer, policy manager for the Americas at the Drug Policy Alliance. "If they do it right, other countries will follow their lead and we'll see a post-marijuana prohibition world."

Speaking to HuffPost from the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo -- where she's been living since February to lobby for the legalization law -- Hetzer broke down how the bill passed, and what it means for efforts to legalize marijuana elsewhere.

Uruguay Becomes First Country To Legalize Marijuana | ThinkProgress

That's what we should do here.