Romania's quiet arrival into the European Union has given way to a blazing row after the romanians declared 'marijuana is good for you' in a bold bid to boost tax revenue.

The country's new approach to drugs, however, has met hard line opposition from other EU leaders in Brussels who have slammed the Romanians as "irresponsible pot-pushing peddlers of death, disease and moral decay".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned that the EC could be plunged into a political crisis if the lax approach on drugs was not replaced with far more robust legislation.


But with Emil Boc, the Romanian PM, already announcing his decision to step down from office, his attitude towards Mr Brown was relaxed, but far from conciliatory.

In an approximate translation, Mr Boc said: "Calm down man, chill out; what you need is a really good shit. Will I skin up?"

The Member states were not totally united behind Mr Brown. The Dutch, all wearing Ipods, seemed totally nonplussed over the situation while the Belgian contingent remained silent, raising suspicions that its stance was linked to the sudden increase in chocolate exports to the former communist state.

Romania's legalisation of the drugs came with the cultivation of 1,200,000 hectares of the Great Plain, already home to thousands of orchards, vineyards and bountiful farms.

This year's mixture of blazing sunshine, high humidity and an abundance of rain saw the hemp crop surpass all expectations. The average plant, with the Romanian growers opting for a Northern Light/Haze hybrid, soared well above 2.5m. This first crop is expected to finally surpass 125,000 tonnes.

The Romanian government has levied a hefty tax rate on marijuana and resin sales with a kilo of high quality, top leaf 'grass' selling for 60,126 Lei (approx $20).

While this is still an expensive luxury for many ordinary Romanians, it is a bargain basement price for tourists.

Villagers have been quick to capitalise by setting up 'stoner stalls' and the city of Bacau has even introduced a special 'smoking park' where tourists can relax with a giant pipe while listening to Romanian traditional music called manele.