RENO: SCIENCE, NOT BALLOTS ON MARIJUANA

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Attorney General Janet Reno says voters should
let science, not the ballot box determine whether marijuana should be used
for medical purposes.

Despite current Justice Department opposition, five states and the District
of Columbia have medical marijuana initiatives on their November ballots. At
her weekly news conference today, Reno said the department was encouraging
research into the issue, but, "There is no present scientific support for
the medical use of marijuana."

Besides the District of Columbia, voters will face the issue on ballots in
Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Washington state and Oregon. Voters in Alaska,
Nevada, Washington and the District of Columbia can decide whether marijuana
should be legal for medical use, while Oregonians can vote for tougher
penalties for possession of the drug. The measure on the Arizona ballot not
only concerns medical use marijuana and other illegal drugs, but also
reduces penalties for general possession of pot. California already has a
medical marijuana law, and a federal judge has ordered the Justice
Department not to prosecute state doctors who recommend its use. However,
the department is fighting the injunction in court. Reno said, "I don't
think" the use of marijuana as a medicine "should be made at the ballot
box."

Justice Department officials said a report on marijuana's usefulness was
expected early next year. The officials acknowledged that there was
anecdotal evidence of marijuana's usefulness in combating various "wasting"
diseases, glaucoma and the nausea and lack of appetite associated with
chemotherapy.

But Reno and the other officials said any official sanction for medical
marijuana use must await hard scientific fact.

The possession or distribution of marijuana is still a federal and state
crime.

Checked-by: Don Beck