TURN ON, TUNE IN, LIGHT UP

Arnold Schwarzenegger believes it could solve California's spiralling
financial crisis and supporters rave about its positive effects, so
could marijuana be coming to a shop near you? Shane Dunphy reports

Changing attitudes: Legalising cannabis may be on the horizon in
California, thanks to a softened stance from Arnold
Schwarzenegger

The drug of choice for the free-love counterculture, marijuana has
probably received more mixed press than any other recreational drug.
Regular users speak of its positive effects: relaxation, warm,
friendly feelings towards others and an expanded world-view.

Medical research, however, suggests that marijuana smoke actually
contains more toxic substances than tobacco smoke. A study
commissioned by the Canadian government, for example, determined that
marijuana smoke contained 20 times more ammonia, and five times more
hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides than its legal counterpart,
making it potentially much more harmful.

Yet the debate as to whether marijuana and its various related
substances (hashish, kief, and hash oil) should be decriminalised
continues, and the latest place to consider the ramifications of such
a move is the US state of California.

Supporters of legalised marijuana claim that the drug can solve
California's spiralling financial crisis. A series of television ads
was launched last week supporting a bill by Democratic assemblyman Tom
Ammiano that would regulate and tax the sale of marijuana in the
Golden State, where Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration is in a
$26bn (