Uruguay (Jurisdiction Profile)
Jurisdiction Identity
| Field |
Value |
| Country |
Uruguay |
| ISO country code |
UY |
| National authority |
Instituto de Regulación y Control del Cannabis (IRCCA) |
| Official sources |
https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/leyes/19172-2013 (Law 19.172); IRCCA site |
| Last verified |
2026-08-09 |
Cannabis Framework
| Dimension |
Status |
| Adult-use possession |
Permitted (registered access routes; possession for personal use) |
| Adult-use cultivation |
Permitted via three regulated routes (below) |
| Adult-use commercial supply |
Regulated pharmacy sales for registered users (limited strains, price-controlled) |
| Medical access |
Medical cannabis regulated under complementary frameworks (pharmaceutical route) |
| Pharmaceutical cannabinoid access |
Regulated pharmaceutical products (GMP) for medical use |
| Home cultivation |
Permitted (up to 6 plants per household, registered, max 480 g harvest) |
| Import/export |
Exports of medical cannabis regulated (state participates in export ventures) |
Regulatory Overview
Uruguay became the first country to fully regulate its non-medical cannabis market under Law 19.172 (2013), administered by IRCCA. Three access routes exist for adults: registered pharmacy purchase (up to 40 g/month), registered home cultivation (6 plants), and Cannabis Social Clubs. This “regulatory triangle” has been studied internationally; IRCCA adjusts strain pricing periodically (2025 price adjustments).
Regulatory History
- 2013: Law 19.172 enacted (Decree 120/014 and later implementing regulations).
- 2014–2017: Implementation of the three access routes; pharmacy sales launched 2017.
- Present: IRCCA continues rule revisions; adult-use cannabis remains pharmacy/registered-route based.
Licensing Structure
- Pharmacy sales: registered pharmacies and licensed producers under IRCCA.
- Home cultivation: registered users (limit 6 plants).
- Social clubs: registered clubs (member limits, plant/quantity caps).
- Medical/pharmaceutical: licensed under medicines regulation (GMP).
Laboratory / Quality Framework
- Pharmacy-supply cannabis is quality-controlled under state-monitored production; the medical/pharmaceutical track applies GMP standards.
- Public data: IRCCA publishes registration and market statistics; no public per-batch COA database located.
Data Surface
| Data surface |
Available? |
Official source |
Machine-readable? |
Notes |
| License registry |
partial |
IRCCA registered users/producers |
no |
Registration stats published; no API located |
| Testing-laboratory registry |
no public source located |
— |
— |
No distinct public list located |
| Laboratory testing rules |
yes |
Law 19.172 regulations + medicines rules |
no |
Codified requirements |
| Contaminant/action limits |
yes |
Regulations |
no |
Set in standards |
| Recalls/advisories |
no public source located |
— |
— |
No structured feed located |
| Product/package identifiers |
partial |
Pharmacy supply strains |
no |
Limited strain set; no public batch data |
| COAs/batch results |
no public source located |
— |
— |
Not published as open data |
| Sales data |
partial |
IRCCA market statistics |
no |
Aggregate statistics |
| Open-data downloads |
no public source located |
— |
— |
No open-data portal located |
Future Ingestion Opportunities
- IRCCA registration/market statistics → aggregate dataset records.
- The three-route model is the reference case for regulated non-medical frameworks; useful as a comparative case study.
- Spanish-language sources are primary; provide translated summaries alongside original citations.
Sources & Provenance
Graph Connections
No existing repository entities are linked to Uruguay. The page is discoverable from the Jurisdictions index.