Uruguay will begin selling cannabis in pharmacies from July, the final stage in the country’s pioneering regularisation of the drug.

The South American country will be the first in the world to legally sell the drug over the counter for recreational use.

The move was set in motion in 2013 with a law that fully legalised the cannabis trade.

However, it has been a slow process to put the law into practice.

“Cannabis will be dispensed in pharmacies starting in the month of July,” presidential aide Juan Andres Roballo told a press conference.

The law requires buyers to sign up to a national registry, which Mr Roballo said would be up and running by 2 May. The price will be US$1.30 (£1) per gram.

Registrants – who must be Uruguayan citizens or permanent residents – can purchase up to a maximum of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) per month.

(BBC)