DEA HEAD SAYS NO TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - The new chief of the Drug Enforcement
Administration said Monday he would strive to enforce the federal ban
on medical marijuana.

Speaking to reporters on his first official day on the job, Asa
Hutchinson - an Arkansas Republican who gave up a House seat to take
the DEA job - said he would try to "send the right signal."

Federal law prohibits the sale of marijuana for medical uses. Some
states, however, let patients use marijuana for such purposes.

"The question is how do you address that from an enforcement
standpoint," he said. "You're not going to tolerate a violation of
law, but at the same time there are a lot of different relationships,
a lot of different aspects that we have to consider as we develop that
enforcement policy."

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and
Washington allow sick people to receive, possess, grow or smoke
marijuana for medical purposes without fear of state prosecution.
Those states have done little to change their statutes since the
Supreme Court ruled federal law prohibits people from dispensing
marijuana to the ill, saying it's up to federal authorities to enforce
the court's decision.

Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor who served as a House
prosecutor in former President Clinton's impeachment trial, said the
scientific and medical communities have thus far determined there is
no legitimate medical use for marijuana.

"If they continue to study it, we will listen to them," he
said.

Speaking moments before his swearing-in ceremony at DEA headquarters,
Hutchinson said his priorities would be to continue working with state
and local law enforcement organizations to fight drug crime, to
strengthen ties with international law enforcement agencies to combat
drug smuggling and to step up use of technology to "stay ahead of drug
traffickers."

Acknowledging the tough road ahead, Hutchinson said he was encouraged
that in the last 15 years, cocaine use has fallen by 75 percent. But
he said acknowledged there was a "sense that our efforts are not as
fruitful as they could be."

On other issues, Hutchinson said:

The U.S. government should continue supporting Colombia's fight
against drug smugglers.

Education and demand reduction would be as important as law
enforcement at the DEA under his leadership.

Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have proved effective in combatting
drug crime, but judges should have some discretion in sentencing decisions.

He would consider improvements to DEA's supervision of paid
informants, including creation of a central registry to keep track of
how they are used.