POSTCARD FROM VANCOUVER

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Hey, man, where was this place back in
the '60s college days when we needed it?

A marijuana-friendly cafe right in the heart of downtown Vancouver?
You must be high.

Actually, no. A visit to the New Amsterdam Cafe and Cannabis Shop
confirmed what we had been hearing - such a place does exist.

It's owned by a guy named Marc Emery, who was busted for selling
marijuana seeds years ago and is now turning his enterprise into a
political cause.

Alysha, who works behind the counter, tells me exactly what's going on
as the aroma of grass wafts through the air.

"Pot is still not legal in Vancouver," she explains, "but if you come
here to smoke and aren't too out in the open about it, the police
won't give you a hard time."

Say, was that Tommy Chong who just walked by?

Anyway, Alysha says business during the Winter Olympics is brisk. Lots
of out of town traffic, some from as far away as Europe. She's quick
to point out that marijuana isn't sold on the premises, not even the
medical variety like they do in California, but this is a popular
meeting place for stoners.

Wow, that looks like Woody Harrelson sitting over there by the
window.

"It's an ongoing debate," says Alysha about attempts to get marijuana
legalized in Vancouver. "It's legal now in California and I would have
thought we were going to be first. But that's the way it is with
everything - the United States gets it first and we just follow."

Outside the cafe, two college kids stroll by smoking joints as if they
were filled with tobacco. The city of Vancouver is obviously pretty
progressive if this sort of behavior is tolerated.

Gosh, I could swear that was Robert Downey Jr. just coming out of the
bathroom.

In the shop next to the cafe, one can buy everything from rolling
papers to water pipes to vaporizers.

Olympic tourists passing by point and giggle at the signs in the
window (especially the Canadian flag with the maple leaf replaced by a
cannabis one) promoting the enterprise.

But only young people appear to be willing to go inside, where there
is a full menu of food (wasn't it George Carlin who once said never
smoke weed before grocery shopping, or risk spending $500?).

Well, it's time to say goodbye before the second-hand smoke gets to
me.

You know what? I think I just saw Michael Phelps going in on my way
out.