Weed could be sold in Uruguay for around 60p a gram in a bid to drive drug traffickers out of business, the government's drugs advisor has said.
Drugs tsar Julio Calzada told El Pais that the government will start a state-run marijuana industry.
Uruguay's president, José Mujica, expects to push it through the Senate soon as part of his effort to explore alternatives in the war on drugs, according to Associated Press.
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Under the bill, only the government would be allowed to sell marijuana to adults registered on a database.
In June last year, as the bill was debated, Defence Minister Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro urged other governments to consider a similar scheme.
The deal is set to begin in late 2014, with $1 enough to make one spliff, or two or three slim versions.
The government does not intend to make money, Calzada told El Pais, but it does intend to stop the illegal market, which is "very risky."
Smoking cannabis is legal in Uruguay, but buying or selling it is not. Growing small amounts for personal consumption was legalised in April 2011.