FRANK SUPPORTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

WASHINGTON - Congress should eliminate federal restrictions on states that
allow marijuana use for medical purposes such as for relieving AIDS- related
nausea and glaucoma, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Newton., said yesterday.

"The irony is, of course, that many drugs much more harmful, much more
powerful, much more addictive than marijuana can be prescribed," said Frank,
who introduced legislation - as he has done twice before - to end the
federal restrictions.

Frank's bill, introduced Tuesday, would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule
II drug, meaning that it could be prescribed by doctors under certain
conditions, just as cocaine and other controlled substances are.
Prescriptions for such drugs are subject to federal and state review.

Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Nevada have permitted
medical use of the drug. While people using marijuana for medical purposes
don't face state prosecution in the six states, they could still face
federal prosecution, said Frank.

Frank isn't hopeful that the Republican-controlled Congress will pass his
bill. Last fall, the House adopted, 310-93, a resolution that said marijuana
is a dangerous and addictive drug and should not be legalized for medical
use. Supporters of that bill said to legalize the drug for medical use
sends the wrong message to teen-agers, and that scientific testing has not
proved a medical use for marijuana.

But the New England Journal of Medicine has editorialized in favor of
medical marijuana and the American Medical Association has urged the
National Institutes of Health to support more research on the subject.

Yesterday, Canada's health minister authorized clinical trials to determine
if marijuana is a useful medicine for people suffering from terminal
illnesses and other painful conditions.

And a report from the International Drug Control Board concluded last month
that in-depth and impartial scientific studies should be conducted into
marijuana's possible medical benefits.