MEDICINAL MARIJUANA STUDY OK'D

Tests Of AIDS Patients To Assess Drug's Effect

SAN MATEO, Calif.: The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has
approved a program that will allow a Northern California county to
give government-grown marijuana to 60 AIDS patients to assess the
drug's potential health benefits.

The 12-week study in San Mateo County could begin as early as
January, county supervisor Mike Nevin said. The DEA approved it
Wednesday.

"What we could end up with is scientific proof that this is a
medicine that should be prescribed by doctors," Mr. Nevin said.

In 1996, Californians passed Proposition 215, which allows
possession, cultivation and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Implementation of the measure has proved difficult, however, as
lawmakers struggle to agree on prescription and distribution
guidelines.

Dr. Dennis Israelski, chief of infectious diseases at the county's
hospitals and clinics, will oversee the study.

The San Mateo County Health Center will provide marijuana to HIV and
AIDS patients who suffer from neurological disorders.

Supporters of the study hope it will determine whether marijuana
relieves pain and increases appetites, as many users contend.
Believers in marijuana's benefits say the drug also settles the
stomach, builds weight and steadies spastic muscles. They also say it
relieves conditions such as premenstrual syndrome, glaucoma, itching,
insomnia, arthritis, depression and attention deficit disorder.

Mr. Nevin opposes decriminalizing marijuana but said its medicinal
value needs further evaluation.

"To disallow the drug to people who need it is a crime," he said.