FLORIDA A&M TO STUDY COCAINE

TALLAHASSEE -- (AP) -- Florida A&M University has received a $2.5 million
grant to produce a drug that fools the body into thinking it is cocaine but
lacks negative side effects.

Henry Lewis III, dean of the university's pharmacy college, said
researchers will start by examining cocaine in molecular form because the
human body has a receptor for every drug.

"The effects of the drug -- the high -- comes from the cell and drug coming
together," Lewis said. "If you block that coming together, that high never
happens."

The six-year grant is from the National Institute of Drug Abuse. Lewis said
he hopes this is just the first step in attracting more funding for drug
abuse research.

The university will use three-dimensional pictures of the cocaine molecule.
A computer will predict which combinations have the best chance of
mimicking the deadly drug.