Uruguay’s marijuana experiment is evaporating (VIDEO)

DENVER, Colo. — It’s been more than 18 months since the tiny South American country of Uruguay legalized the cultivation, taxation and sale of recreational marijuana.

The most striking element of Uruguay’s legislation is that the government has pledged to hire companies to cultivate its own marijuana, which will then be sold to the public in pharmacies.

Yet, more than a year and a half later, and the Uruguayan government is yet to announce even the companies that will be growing its weed. In January, a government minister told reporters that the government was days away from announcing the companies. That never happened.

The most radical part of Uruguay’s pioneering pot plan looks in trouble. The pot law was pushed forwards by Uruguay’s former President Jose “Pepe” Mujica, a left-wing former revolutionary, who also ushered in the legalization of gay marriage and abortion. But Mujica, who was termed out this year, was replaced in March by Tabare Vazquez, whose politics are much more centrist.

Vazquez has been lukewarm on the idea of government-grown pot all along. Vazquez’s pot czar said back in March that there was “no rush” for the government to start growing and selling marijuana, and since then, there’s been no news about this aspect of the law moving forwards.

So, what’s the current status of the law?

Last week, I sat down with Ricardo Baca, editor of the Denver Post’s Cannabist blog and host of the weekly Cannabist Show video podcast. We discussed Uruguay’s pot progress, and I filled him in on what GlobalPost has learned about the Uruguayan government’s work on this issue over two years covering the country.

Check out the show below. The discussion about Uruguay begins at about 8:40: