Adult cannabis consumers in Uruguay have three options for legally acquiring recreational cannabis. An increasingly popular option is to buy legally through registered pharmacies, as recent sales data demonstrates.

“The sale of cannabis for adult use in pharmacies continues to grow. Martín Rodríguez, executive director of the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA), told El País that in the first eight months of the year, the volume of marijuana sold in the 60 authorized pharmacies increased by 46% compared to the same period last year.” reported El País in its local reporting (translated from Spanish to English). “This trend suggests that this year will break the all-time record for cannabis sales in pharmacies again, and that the total volume sold could approach six tons.”

“The system is growing, the number of registered users keeps increasing,” Rodríguez stated, according to the outlet. “The proportion of people who use cannabis is not increasing, consumption is not increasing, but the number of people who access it through regulated channels is increasing.”

Uruguay became the first nation on the planet to adopt a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure in 2013. It wasn’t until 2018 that the next country, Canada, adopted a national legalization measure. Legal cannabis sales first launched in Uruguay in 2017.

During the 2025 calendar year, licensed pharmacies in Uruguay sold roughly 4.2 tons of recreational cannabis. If current trends persist, Uruguay’s pharmacies will sell roughly 5.4 tons of recreational cannabis in 2026. Cannabis sales are currently limited to adult residents of Uruguay. Rather than make purchases through pharmacies, consumers also have the option to either join a noncommercial cultivation association or register to cultivate cannabis at their private residences.

Uruguay’s pharmacies sell cannabis in five-gram units. Below is a list of the four strains available and their corresponding 5-gram prices. The USD currency conversions listed below were current as of the posting of this article:

• Alfa – $500 (USD 12.45)
• Beta – $510 (USD 12.69)
• Gamma – $580 (USD 14.44)
• Epsilon – $630 (USD 15.68)

The first two strains sold in pharmacies were ‘Alfa’ and ‘Beta’, each with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels equal to or less than 9%, and cannabidiol (CBD) levels equal to or less than 3%. Then, in 2022, Uruguay permitted a third option, ‘Gamma,’ which has a THC level of equal to or less than 15%, and CBD levels of equal to or less than 1%. The ‘Epsilon’ strain, which has a THC content of equal to or less than 20% and a CBD content of equal to or less than 1%, was approved in late 2024.