Uruguay's Senate has approved a ground-breaking law that legalises marijuana, becoming the first nation in the world to oversee the production and sale of the drug.
After a marathon debate, 16 leftist senators out of 29 legislators voted on Tuesday in favour of the legislation championed by President Jose Mujica, who must now sign it into law.
Outside the Senate, hundreds of cannabis-smoking supporters launched fireworks in what they dubbed "the last march with illegal marijuana".
"The war against drugs has failed," said senator Roberto Conde as he presented the bill on behalf of the ruling leftist Broad Front, calling it an "unavoidable response" to that failure.
The bill passed the lower house of congress in August and was assured of approval because the ruling coalition controls both chambers.
It authorises the production, distribution and sale of cannabis, allows individuals to grow their own on a small scale, and creates consumer clubs - all under state supervision and control.
Mujica, a 78-year-old former leftist guerilla fighter, has called his plan an experiment. "There are a lot of doubts and the doubts are legitimate," he told Channel 4 television before the vote.
"But doubts shouldn't paralyse us in trying new paths to deal with this problem that has gripped us."
However, he added: "We are not totally prepared. But as in everything, you have to give it a chance."
The legislation has caused unease in neighbouring Brazil and Argentina.
The bill goes well beyond the marijuana legalisation measures recently approved by the US states of Colorado and Washington, or the similarly liberal laws of The Netherlands and Spain.
Consumers over 18 will be able to grow their own marijuana, though no more than six plants per person. They can also get it through clubs or buy up to 40 grams per month from pharmacies.
In every case, they must be registered with the government.
Conde argued that the law strikes a balance between individual liberty and public health, while also resolving the "grotesque juridical inconsistency" arising from the status quo, in which marijuana consumption is not penalised but its production and sale is.
Opposition parties rejected the measure, as well as pharmacists, who reject the idea that marijuana will be sold in pharmacies.
There is also widespread public scepticism in this small country of 3.3 million. A poll taken in September found 61 per cent disapprove of the law.
