One of the most controversial issues facing our generation is if we should legalize marijuana. In the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, marijuana is considered as a narcotic therefore making marijuana illegal in Canada. Canada is mo re tolerant of marijuana than the United States and it shows by the statistics. The Canadian Center on Substance Abuse said about 25,000 people was arrested in Canada for simple possession of marijuana in 1999, whereas in the United States it exceeded 600,000 because of their "zero tolerance" policy. In Canada it is estimated that over two million people have smoked marijuana within the last year, and over one hundred thousand people use it daily, yet marijuana is still considered an illegal substance.

Recent years Canada passed a law allowing people with serious illnesses to use marijuana for medical purposes, only if they obtained a government exemption. On September 05, 2002, a Canadian Senate Committee...