CANADA READIES MARIJUANA LAW REFORMS

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 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
legalized, 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, Bibby said, 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.