MORE TEENS TREATED FOR MARIJUANA THAN ALCOHOL

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More teenagers are treated for abuse of marijuana
than for any other drug including alcohol, according to a report released
Tuesday.

"Teens who smoke marijuana are playing a dangerous game of Russian
roulette," said Joseph Califano, president and chairman of the National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York,
which released the study.

Of the 181,784 teens and children who entered treatment in 1996, the latest
year for which figures were available, nearly half were admitted for abuse
of marijuana, the report said.

"The potential of marijuana as a dangerous drug for our children in and of
itself, as a gateway to other drug use, and as a signal of trouble is a
matter of the most serious concern for American parents," said Califano,
former secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

The report suggested policies that legalize or decriminalize nonmedical
marijuana posed serious threats to millions of America's children.

Eleven states, including California and Minnesota, have decriminalized
marijuana.

But at a congressional hearing, proponents of reforming marijuana laws said
there was no evidence that decriminalizing marijuana would increase its use
among young people. They said the vast majority of marijuana smokers are
law-abiding adults.

"Congress needs to move beyond the 'reefer madness' phase of our marijuana
policy, where elected officials attempt to frighten Americans into
supporting the status quo by exaggerating marijuana's potential dangers,"
Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws, told a House Government Reform subcommittee Tuesday.