UP IN SCIENCE

PROVING THE worth of medical marijuana isn't easy. Skeptics doubt the
science put forward by advocates, and Washington is in no mood to
loosen tough laws barring its use.

Now comes a rigorous-sounding study by AIDS researchers at San
Francisco General Hospital that shows smoking cannabis can ease nerve
pain in HIV-infected patients. It's a serious advancement from the
anecdotal stories of relief mocked by critics who oppose wider use of
marijuana.

The study should have the effect of reopening the debate on pot's
medicinal value. California voters in 1996 approved marijuana for
medical use with a doctor's approval, but this humane goal hasn't
been achieved.

The plan, never accepted by federal authorities as legal, has
produced a twilight world of access. Law enforcement periodically
raid pot dispensaries while cities, most notably San Francisco,
struggle with lax oversight of these businesses. This whole system
seemed ripe for collapse.

The hospital study is a serious reminder of marijuana's potential as
a safe pain-reliever. Doctors obtained the raw material from a
federal farm in Mississippi after approvals from eight government agencies.

A two-year trial using both marijuana cigarettes and placebos without
the active ingredient found a sizable drop in stabbing and burning
pain level attributed to the weed. Customary pain-relief drugs can be
hard to take or don't always work.

A single study, even one as careful as this one, isn't likely to win
over all doubters. But it should restart the debate about the humane
use of cannabis. Does society want an effective and reliable way to
combat suffering -- or continue an unreasonable war against marijuana?