To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > Travel April 14, 2000 URL: http://www.salon.com/travel/planet/2000/04/14/weed U.S. stoners buy Canadian Manitoban pot reaches a new high. - - - - - - - - - - - - By J.A. Getzlaff In the old days, when you asked any self-respecting stoner what his or her favorite marijuana was, you usually got a rave review of Hawaii's Mowie Wowie or Puna Butter. But these days, according to the Canadian Press, you're bound to hear cannabis connoisseurs wax poetic about Manitoban, Canada's very own very strong weed. Because Canadian courts tend to be lenient toward marijuana-related cases, Manitoba's pot farmers, who raise their crops hydroponically, have the time to fine-tune their plants, as they're less likely to be destroyed in a drug raid. The result: A knock-you-on-your-ass product that has become known as "Wheelchair Weed." Wheelchair Weed's levels of THC (the stuff that gets you high) average 15 to 20 percent. Most of the other marijuana that comes into the United States -- typically from Mexico, the Caribbean and South America -- has THC levels of just 3 to 7 percent. Oh, yes, Wheelchair Weed means business -- and that's exactly why it's so popular. Brent Eaton, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Miami, confirmed in the report that "people around [the U.S.] buy Canadian. If somebody's taken a liking to Manitoban, that's what they'll get, if it's available." Oh, Canada! salon.com | April 14, 2000   - - - - - - - - - - - - About the writer J.A. Getzlaff's Daily Planet appears every weekday. Do you have a tip or tale for J.A.? Send it to DailyPlanet@salon.com.