Vancouver is okay with a little marijuana, the IOC not so much

Don't worry Vancouver marijuana enthusiats. The upcoming Olympics aren't going to interfere with your smoking. Furthermore, your mellow will not be harshed. In fact, it's quite the opposite. According to Lindsey Houghton, a representative for the Vancouver Police Department, "our officers show an exceptional amount of discretion with respect to people smoking marijuana and that will continue."

The city, which operates the only supervised injection site for intravenous drug users in all of Canada, is famous for its lax approach to drug law enforcement. In fact, with the Olympics quickly approaching, city officials realize that different cultures may even be more permissive than Vancouverites. Houghton told The Canadian Press, "there are people who are coming to visit that live in countries where it may certainly not be against the law so I don't expect people will come here seeking to openly contravene our drug laws but you know, I'm sure there will be people who do it and I'm sure our officers will do their best to remind them that that's against the law."

However, the drug is still banned for athletes because it is considered a performance-enhancing drug. Which lends itself to the question, "what does Canadian gold medalist/guy who tested positive for marijuana Ross Rebagliati have to say about all of this?" Luckily Nathaniel Vinton of the New York Daily News followed up with the snowboarder.

So marijuana is against the law in Vancouver, but offenders won't be prosecuted. And the IOC considers the drug to be performance-enhancing, while its users plainly deny that supposition. Sounds like officials are going to be doing a lot of testing once the games begin.