CHECK IT OUT WITH UNCLE SAM FIRST

Debate about whether the federal government has made a hash of its
marijuana initiative is usually missing one vital element.

Whether Allan Rock and Co. have done too much or too little has a lot
to do with their consideration of one crucial and ever-present factor:
The U.S.A.

Canada is not an isolated, self-sufficient island, nor does its
government operate in a vacuum, although it sometimes may seem that
way. Ottawa likes the open border with the U.S. and all the benefits
of living next to the world's economic colossus and having that
country -- by far -- as its best customer.

So that means operating within certain limitations.

It means getting a green light, a nudge or a wink from key elements in
Washington when you want to do something other powerful interests
south of the border don't like.

Canada has learned when it is safe to exploit such
opportunities.

We recognized China before the Americans did -- likely not
coincidentally around the time Henry Kissinger was making his secret
visits to Beijing.

This country has had trade and tourism links with Cuba and the
Americans don't.

In both cases there's reason to believe that important people in the
U.S. administration, who liked the policies, believed Canada's actions
could be useful.

The initiatives of the respected good neighbour to the north become a
legitimate example.

"The Canadians can help us get things moving if folks can see them go
forward without the sky falling" is the way the thinking goes.

About medical marijuana, our government made the decision to go ahead
during the Clinton administration. The latter's officials in "high
places," as U.S. pot foes would view it, said: "Hey, cool."

Health Minister Allan Rock's assurances that Canada has to adhere to
international treaties on drugs and drug laws helped assure the Bush
people.

All the necessary testing and standardization to weed out the problems
and get doctors onside promise to take years.

They know cannabis foliage won't be replacing the maple leaf on the
flag any time soon.

Meanwhile, the two countries officially still have very different
approaches.

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a federal ban on medical marijuana
earlier this year.

The study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that
came out during the flurry of publicity about the Flin Flon marijuana
mine, cited evidence that delinquent behaviour, drinking and dropping
out of school were all strongly associated with marijuana use.

However, the dynamic of the legitimate example seems to be
working.

A column this week by Ellen Goodman in the Boston Globe and syndicated
to other American newspapers starts out: "And now from our northern
neighbours, the allegedly staid Canadians, a new antidote to our
reefer madness."

Goodman, who favours the legalization of medical marijuana, points out
the absurdities in American law, noting that patients are using drug
dealers as doctors and treatment for suffering is a crime.

Seeing hope, she observes that Asa Hutchinson, the Bush choice to head
the Drug Enforcement Administration, has said prosecuting the medical
marijuana dealers wasn't "a priority."

Goodman asks, "Is that a whiff of sanity from across the border? Or
just a contact high?"

There are a lot of people interested in marijuana down
there.

Flin Flon is now on the North American map and the times, they are a
changin' -- slowly.