Not only is Uruguay moving to become the first country in the world where the sale of Marijuana is legal, but the government is setting a price that this reporter is told is a pretty good deal, around A$1 a gram.  Not that I’d know.

“The price of marijuana from Paraguay that gets sold on the streets here is about $1 a gram, so we're going to set the price of government-controlled cannabis at around that same price.  We want to snatch the market away from the drug traffickers,” said the head of Uruguay's National Drugs Board Julio Calzada, referring to marijuana imported from South American neighbors.

Uruguay’s senate is expected to approve the plan next month.  Sales would start next year and would be restricted to locals, who would be able to buy up to 40 grams per month.

Smoking cannabis has long been legal in Uruguay, but growing, carrying, buying or selling it has been punishable by prison terms. About 120,000 of the country's 3.4 million population consume cannabis at least once a year, according to the National Drug Council. Of these, 75,000 smoke it every week and 20,000 every day.