I was in Uruguay when cannabis for recreational use was legalized. The result was that downtown Montevideo was drenched in the smell of smoke, sometimes enough to make a passerby start coughing. Generally the smell of cannabis products doesn't bother me, but I know that many people find it rank and would prefer to avoid it.
I did think it was odd that while some countries are gradually attempting to wipe out tobacco smoking in public – you can smoke somewhere theoretically, but not in the park, on your balcony in a block of flats, or (if children could be present) in your own home or car – a change had been made in Uruguay that only increased the amount of public smoking.
That's an interesting - and to me unsurprising - side effect. Weed is such a generally low-key anodyne that is basically tantamount to alcohol in effect.
Take away the mystique of its illegality and it suddenly becomes a lot less interesting to teenagers.
I did think it was odd that while some countries are gradually attempting to wipe out tobacco smoking in public – you can smoke somewhere theoretically, but not in the park, on your balcony in a block of flats, or (if children could be present) in your own home or car – a change had been made in Uruguay that only increased the amount of public smoking.