In the 1960’s, Canada’s “War on Drugs” immersed and the debate on drug-use across the country resurfaced with the rise of the counter culture. The counter culture refers to the many young Canadian’s, most commonly referred to in common day as a “hippie”, who rallied, publicly flouted, and mocked, the conventional behaviour enforced by the government. Marijuana became a potent symbol of the counter-culture and the social rebellion that it entailed. Prior to the 1960’s very few Canadians smoked marijuana, but from 1960 onward, its popularity, and availability increased and so did the call for its legalization. In the early 1970’s the federal Minister of Health declared that marijuana was a representation of youth “alienation” across the country.