CANADA TO LICENSE MARIJUANA PRODUCTION FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES

OTTAWA -- As the government puts the finishing touches on regulations that
will make Canada one of the first countries to license marijuana growers,
deepening public tolerance toward the drug is clearing the path to legal
reforms that could make Canada far more permissive of marijuana than the
United States.

Health Canada officials say that by the end of July, marijuana growers will
be able to apply for special licenses to produce small amounts of marijuana
legally for people with terminal illnesses or chronic diseases to ease
their pain.

Over the last few years, more than 250 Canadians have received government
permission to smoke marijuana for medical purposes, and many more will
qualify for the exemptions when the new regulations take effect, but until
then they must either grow the marijuana themselves or buy it illegally.

Health officials say that although there is no scientific proof that
marijuana has medicinal properties, testimony from people who have used it
to overcome the nausea associated with chemotherapy or to help with their
glaucoma and other diseases has been so convincing that the government has
decided to make it legal under certain circumstances.

What they had not counted on, however, is that by debating and then
authorizing this specialized use of marijuana, they would be seen by many
Canadians as legitimizing the use of the drug.

A recent survey showed that 47 percent of Canadians agreed that marijuana
should be legal, a sharp increase over the number five years ago.

"A new mood seems to be sweeping the country," said Reginald Bibby, a
professor at the University of Lethbridge who has studied Canadian
attitudes toward marijuana for a generation.

For 20 years starting in 1975, the percentage of Canadians who favored
legalizing marijuana ranged from 24 to 31.

But since 1995, acceptance has broadened substantially.

"Unquestionably, there is a link between government actions and the changes
in public attitudes," Bibby said. "The moral entrepreneurs in the country
are working very hard to portray the harmful effects of marijuana, but most
people are starting to see it as only something that can be positive."

An estimated 1.5 million Canadians smoke marijuana recreationally,
according to the Canadian Medical Association.