GONE TO POT

MANY Canadians have often wondered if the grass is greener south of
the border. But now, thanks to new federal rules that came into force
on July 30th, it is easier to get the stuff at home: the change allows
marijuana to be used for medical purposes. Only those suffering from
terminal illnesses, or from diseases such as multiple sclerosis and
epilepsy, may apply. But the new rules are a sign of a wider shift in
Canadian attitudes to drugs.

Other countries, such as the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, have
decriminalised possession of marijuana for recreational use. What is
unusual about Canada's action is that the government itself is gearing
up to supply patients and researchers. Under a federal contract, a
private company is growing quality-controlled weed in a disused
mineshaft in Manitoba.

That is in stark contrast to the United States, where the Supreme
Court recently scuppered moves by a dozen states to legalise the
medical use of marijuana. Ethan Nadelmann of the Lindesmith Centre, a
drug-policy think-tank in New York, argues that Canada is moving away
from a hardline American-style war on drugs towards European-style
harm reduction. Vancouver, for example, is debating whether to
establish heroin clinics and safe-injection sites. And in practice
police in British Columbia are turning a blind eye to possession of
small quantities of weed.

Not enough, argues Eugene Oscapella of the Canadian Foundation for
Drug Policy, a lobby group for reform. Under the new rules, to get
marijuana patients will need a declaration from at least one doctor,
if not two; and the Canadian Medical Association has expressed
strong reservations about the new policy. In opinion polls, around
half of those surveyed now support the decriminalisation of marijuana,
or minimal fines for its possession. So does Joe Clark, the leader of
the Progressive Conservatives. Even Stockwell Day, the Bible-thumping
leader of the right-wing Canadian Alliance, has admitted to smoking
the drug in his youth.

More change may be on the way. Later this year Canada's Supreme Court
will consider a challenge to the law banning marijuana. The Senate,
the House of Commons and the auditor-general are all studying drug
policy. Meanwhile, Canadians keep on puffing; almost two-fifths of
those polled in June admitted to having taken marijuana at least once.