Recreational cannabis goes on sale in Uruguay

Cannabis has gone on sale at 16 pharmacies in Uruguay, the final step in applying a 2013 law that made the South American nation the first in the world to legalise selling of the drug for recreational use.

Around 5,000 people had registered to buy when the sale began yesterday.

The price is set at the equivalent of $1.30 per gram – 90 cents of which goes to the two businesses chosen to cultivate the plants. The rest is split between the pharmacies and the government, which will use its share to fund drug prevention programs.