There are no banners declaiming Viva Marijuana!

But whether you are Canadian or Kannadiga, from Cancun or the Konkan, there appears to be no better conversation starter than lighting up. The scratch of the match and the odour of sulphur are like beacons to moths. Then, there is another smell — one that decides what kind of company you may have over the next five minutes.

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Things would have been so much more organised had the altruistic activist from Delhi opened a stall to hand-roll joints for the needy. Instead, he just rolled them out on demand, sneaking a toke from each one as commission. Even as prowling policemen looked on benignly.

So it was not odd to see three farmers from the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, bright green shawls draped over their shoulders, share a moment of quiet communion with an Argentine activist and a French social worker. All in the spirit of weeding out imperialism, perhaps.

As an abstinent American delegate quipped, "These guys are serious about going green!"