MARIJUANA TABOO?

A ballot initiative that passed in Maine last year, easing restrictions on
the medical use of marijuana, may be having a domino effect.

While Indiana and U.S. laws generally prohibit the use of marijuana and its
by-products, more states are opening the door to legal drug use, which may
in turn encourage illegal drug use.

In California, where it's legal to use marijuana for medical purposes,
supporters are pushing a plan involving state government for the safe and
affordable distribution of medical marijuana.

Hawaii is considering rules that would permit the "acquisition, possession,
cultivation, distribution, transportation, administration and use of
marijuana for medical purposes."

Maryland will decide whether to let doctors prescribe it to some patients,
and lawmakers in Minnesota have proposed granting immunity to seriously ill
patients who use marijuana for medical reasons.

Voters in Alaska and Oregon face even more ambitious referendums. An Alaska
ballot initiative will ask whether or not all forms of marijuana should be
decriminalized, and in traditionally liberal Oregon, the Campaign for the
Restoration and Regulation of Hemp is sponsoring a ballot initiative that
would make it legal for adults to "grow, possess and consume cannabis" and
allow marijuana to be sold in liquor stores.

It's difficult to predict where this will end and whether the proposals will
become law. But all signs suggest the taboo against marijuana, if there
still is one, is fading. Overall drug use may be down, but marijuana use
among teens is up.

According to a 1999 government study, Monitoring the Future, 23.1 percent of
all 12th-graders had used marijuana in the past 30 days. The report revealed
that 9.7 percent of eighth-graders and 19.4 percent of students in 10th
grade admitted they currently use marijuana.

THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, may have legitimate medical
value as a pain suppressant, but more study is required to determine how it
could best be used and regulated for patients.

Other government studies reveal that adolescents' use of marijuana is
directly linked to their perception of its harm. In that regard, the latest
round of ballot initiates sends a dangerous message to our youngsters.