SMOKING ON THE THAMES

Britain's Labour government now plans to legalize cannabis (or marijuana)
for medical uses, according to a March 24 report from Reuters. The move
surprises some, but is said to be a compromise between Mo Mowlam, the
cabinet minister in charge of anti-drug strategies, who wanted a study on
full decriminalization of marijuana, and Prime Minister Tony Blair, who
preferred no change.

The move may have been prodded also by a report from the Police Foundation,
headed by Prince Charles, which recommended that marijuana use be
"depenalized." Meanwhile, in California, the people voted for
medicalization of marijuana in 1996 and patients still have trouble getting
authorities to recognize their rights instead of throwing them in the
calaboose.

Alan Bock