DRUG CZAR CRITICIZES MEDICAL POT

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey spoke
harshly against the medical use of marijuana, calling much of it ``a
crock'' and saying more research is needed.

``Ask a doctor if he really wants a big blunt stuck in a patient's
face as treatment,'' McCaffrey said on Friday, the final day of a
national conference on addiction at the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Library and Museum. ``A lot of this is a crock.''

Some 20 medical marijuana supporters protested outside the library,
carrying signs, banners and a pot plant.

Marijuana is banned by the federal government, although voters in six
states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Maine, Oregon and Washington -
have approved laws allowing the drug to be used for medical purposes.

McCaffrey - a longtime opponent of medical marijuana use and other
forms of drug legalization - said the federal government is spending
increasing sums to fight substance abuse, and suggested state and
local governments need to do more to ensure the money is well-spent.