SOAKING UP THE ATMOSPHERE AT AMERICA'S FIRST 'CANNABIS CAFE'

At first glance it could be any other coffee shop in America.
Chocolate croissants are stacked behind the counter and patrons
lounge on sofas. There are, however, a few crucial differences.

A shelf is lined with large glass jars, containing what appear to be
plant samples. The customers do not have coffee pots in front of
them, but "vapourisers" with digital readouts indicating when the
plant samples have been heated to precisely 375F, at which point a
thin mist rises from them into large transparent plastic bags. The
patrons "sip" on the bags using the kind of valves that you might see
on a diver's oxygen tank.

Above their heads hangs a sign that explains everything: "Cannabis
Cafe". Opened only a few days ago, this establishment, in Portland,
Oregon, is America's first and only legal marijuana coffee shop.

How long it survives is entirely up to the Obama Administration,
which, for the time being, has instructed its Attorney-General, Eric
Holder, to leave the policing of marijuana to individual states.

"Prohibition didn't work the first time around," said Madeline
Martinez, 58, a former prison warden, who runs the cafe. "It just
created a culture of gangsters and murderers. And now it's happening
again. I say we take marijuana away from the Mexican mob."

She added that she would like to see the state of Oregon itself
become the primary supplier. "They could grow it in state prisons,"
she said, without cracking a smile. "The best growers are already in there."

For the time being, however, visiting the Cannabis Cafe is not quite
as easy as going to Starbucks.

First, you must be enrolled in Oregon's Medical Marijuana Programme
- -- available only to residents of the state. Joining requires a $100
(UKP60) fee and a doctor's certificate confirming that you suffer
from cancer, glaucoma, Aids, Alzheimer's, or any condition that
results in severe pain, appetite loss, spasms, seizures, or nausea.

Only after being issued with a patient ID card are you allowed to
join the Oregon chapter of the National Organisation for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which costs $240 a year. Patrons must show
their patient ID and NORML membership cards before being let through
the doors of the Cannabis Cafe.

As for the price of a hit -- it's free. Unlike the so-called
dispensaries in California that have been accused of profiteering,
the marijuana served at the Cannabis Cafe is donated by
state-approved growers, who painstakingly document which strains are
most effective at treating specific symptoms.

Inevitably, some neighbours are concerned. Although Ms Martinez
claims that over-medicated patrons are not allowed to drive home,
there do not appear to be any strictly enforced rules, and
urine-based drug tests -- unlike Breathalyser tests -- are
notoriously unreliable.

As for whether the Cannabis Cafe's patrons are genuinely in need of
medical help, Greg Woods, a 35-year-old patron who has suffered
chronic pain since a 2003 car accident, appears to provide the answer.

"I'm able to cut down on the number of narcotics I take because of
this," he said. While a Vicodin pill knocks him out, "smoking a bowl"
keeps him functioning.

And what about the coffee? Is it any good? He looked blank. Then he
smiled. "Haven't tried it," he said.