THE MATTER IS STILL LEFT UP IN THE AIR

A panel commissioned by the federal government has conducted a
detailed study of the benefits and dangers of marijuana, and, if
nothing else, it has succeeded in adding consternation to confusion.

Even so, it would not surprise us at all if advocates of marijuana in
California seized on the findings to demand that pot be used to treat
victims of AIDS and other illnesses.

We are one of seven states that allow the use of marijuana for medical
purposes. In California, the user must obtain a prescription from a
doctor. But the federal government continues to oppose the practice,
and, in San Francisco in particular, the feds have cracked down on
free-lance users.

What bothers us is that, even with this latest study, the government
continues to avoid a clear-cut decision on marijuana.

The report had a lot of good things to say about pot as a medical
tool, especially in treating AIDS patients who suffer nausea, pain and
weight loss.

The panel also concluded there is no evidence that giving the drug to
sick people would encourage recreational use and that it is not likely
to lead to the use of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin.

At the same time, the experts, representing the National Academy of
Sciences, watered down their report somewhat by warning that the
benefits of smoking marijuana were limited because the smoke itself is
so toxic.

Finally, Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the nation's drug czar, who
requested the study, said he is not yet ready to change the
government's position against marijuana.

So where does all this leave us? Pretty much back at Square One - with
experts talking out both sides of their mouths, marijuana advocates
more determined to get pot legalized and the government still dug in
against it.

Better had the experts said nothing until they were ready to make an
unequivocal recommendation one way or another.