U.S. IS SUED OVER POSITION ON MARIJUANA

SAN FRANCISCO -- Frustrated by government policy and inaction, a
group of advocates for medical marijuana sued two federal health
agencies on Wednesday over the assertion that smoking it has no
medical benefit.

The group, Americans for Safe Access, a nonprofit organization based
in Oakland, filed the lawsuit in Federal District Court, challenging
the government's position that marijuana, "has no currently accepted
medical use in treatment in the United States."

In its lawsuit, the group contends that federal regulators have
publicly issued "false and misleading statements" about the medical
benefits of marijuana.

The lawsuit, which named the Department of Health and Human Services
and the Food and Drug Administration, seeks a court order to retract
and correct statements that the group called, "incorrect, dishonest
and a flagrant violation of laws."

A lawyer for the medical marijuana group, Joseph Elford, said the
lawsuit was filed now because administrative avenues had been
exhausted and because of mounting scientific and anecdotal evidence
to the contrary.

Mr. Elford said a recent study by the Clinical Research Center at San
Francisco General Hospital, which was approved by the F.D.A. and
other federal agencies, found that smoking marijuana relieved pain
and certain symptoms of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.

A spokeswoman for the health department said Wednesday in a telephone
interview that "the agency does not comment on litigation as a general policy."

The spokeswoman, Christina Pearson, said the agency stood by its
publicly stated position and pointed to an April 20, 2006, statement.
In that advisory, which Ms. Pearson said was current, the federal
government asserts that "there is currently sound evidence that
smoked marijuana is harmful."

It goes on to say that "no animal or human data supported the safety
or efficacy of marijuana," which is not an approved drug.