This week’s edition of the Upside looks at drugs policy, deadly weather and gang rehab

“First-world problem,” people sometimes scoff when told of the trivial complaints of the well-to-do. And indeed the challenges faced by the rich world are often starkly different to those of the developing world, as this week’s articles from our Upside series show.

Canada is embarking on a grand, progressive experiment to legalise recreational marijuana, ending more than 90 years of prohibition. Proponents of legalisation argue that it makes it easier to keep the drug away from young people, prevents lives from being jeopardised by criminal records for minor possession and frees up resources to tackle more serious crime.

As the country took another step towards becoming the first G7 state to legalise the drug, Selena Ross reported from Montreal on what impact the move might have on everything from crime to health to business.

In India, however, problems are often more life-and-death. In 2015 more than 2,000 people died during a spell of weather hot enough to melt roads, official figures show. Last year the heat-related death toll dropped dramatically, to just over 200. Michael Safi discovered how the country did it.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Former gang member Carlos Argueta, who now works for a sportswear manufacturer in El Salvador. Photograph: Marvin Recinos/AFP/Getty Images

In recent years El Salvador has ranked as one of the most dangerous countries in the world that is not a war zone, the tragic result of a deadly turf war between rival gangs. A growing movement in the country has concluded that the only sustainable way to end the violence is to find new jobs for former gangsters. But that’s a prospect that’s tough to stomach for some traumatised Salvadorans, as Anna-Catherine Brigida discovered.

Finally, we stumbled across a movement that seemed to be all upside. Urban food-growing projects are flourishing in US cities. Rachel Obordo heard from two schemes in Texas and Connecticut where unused spaces are being transformed by communities to provide fresh produce.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest People planting vegetables in Dallas, Texas. Photograph: Jessie Wood

What we liked:

An enlightening look at the most popular course at Yale University: PSYC 157: Psychology and the Good Life (also known as How to be Happy 101).

This tale of one woman’s battle to save her husband and how it led to dozens of wrongful arrests being exposed.



And this Atlantic story on a potential breakthrough that – if successfully implemented (and that’s one big, planet-sized if) – could be a turning point in efforts to tackle climate change.

What we heard:

There are more and more methods of urban food-growing popping up, converted shipping containers for example. Expect to see more and more of this as the soil across the globe becomes unusable and traditional farming dies off Commenter lovedoves writing below the line about urban gardening

Where was the upside?

In the Dutch city of Eindhoven, where the world’s first habitable 3D printed houses are due to arrive next year.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An artist’s impression of the 3D printed houses. Designers have described the style as ‘erratic blocks in the green landscape’. Photograph: Houben/Van Mierlo

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If there is a story, innovation or trailblazer you think we should report on, write to us at theupside@theguardian.com.