STUDENTS SEARCH FOR MARIJUANA, TATTOOS ONLINE

Marijuana was flying high on a list of most popular terms used to search
the Internet on Lycos Inc.'s Web site, in a trend linked to the
back-to-school season, the Internet media and search company said Tuesday.

``Cliff Notes we see go up in the fall, although at a much steeper rate,''
said Fritz Holznagel, writer of the Lycos 50, referring to the study aid.
``Marijuana has more of a steady user base than Cliff Notes, but it follows
a similar trend.'' Marijuana jumped to No. 26 on Lycos' list of most
commonly searched terms in the week of Oct. 19 from below 50, where it had
been for eight weeks.

Last week, marijuana hit No. 36, and then climbed further this week.
Marijuana saw similar popularity in the spring months before school was
out, Holznagel said.

``Searches for the word marijuana seem to follow a reverse bell curve, with
the summer in the bottom of the bell curve,'' he said.

The searches for the word marijuana were often paired with words like
``bong'' and ``seeds,'' Holznagel said, adding that in the week of Oct. 19,
there were more searches for information on tattoos than Y2K, or the Year
2000 computer glitch.

The younger set has dominated the top spots of the Lycos 50 list, with
Pokemon at the No. 1 spot for nine weeks, and singer Britney Spears and the
World Wrestling Federation not far behind.

Weather, news and four-letter words are not included in the listings.