EX-DRUG CZAR, MARIJUANA ALLIES CLASH OVER POT'S MEDICAL USE

Former U.S. drug czar William Bennett found himself challenged Wednesday in
Orlando on why he and others oppose legalizing marijuana for medical
treatment.

``It has been used as medicine for 5,000 years,'' Al Krulick said. ``Why do
you and your colleagues ignore published studies on the effects of
marijuana?''

Bennett countered that the studies were flawed.

``Cutting people's feet off, and using hot coals, has been used as
medicine,'' Bennett said. ``That doesn't mean it's medicine.''

So went the first day of the Marijuana Education Summit, a seminar for 400
police, school and youth officials in Orlando.

The two-day event, sponsored by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement,
the Drug Free America Foundation and Save Our Society from Drugs, is aimed
at fighting the legalization of pot for medical purposes.

Moments after the exchange between Krulick and Bennett, HIV patient Greg
Scott told Bennett that marijuana had helped him keep his health.

``Should we put patients like myself in jail for smoking marijuana?'' asked
Scott, 36, of Fort Lauderdale.

Bennett said he doubted there was reputable research showing that pot saved
his life.

``I would just tell the gentleman who spoke that he has a lousy doctor,''
responded Dr. Gary Cohan, a Los Angeles internist who treats AIDS patients.

With battle lines clearly drawn, law enforcement officials painted the
pro-pot movement as a prelude to legalizing all drugs. They contend pot is
a stepping stone to the use of other drugs.

Marijuana advocates say legalization would be a compassionate move to
improve the quality of life for cancer and AIDS patients, many of whose
bodies and appetites waste away in the face of chemotherapy and other
treatments.

U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Orlando, joined Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood,
Florida Secretary of State Sandra Mortham, FDLE Commissioner Tim Moore and
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief Tom Constantine in a
high-powered kickoff to fight a proposed marijuana initiative in Florida.

Also appearing were Arizona and California law enforcement officials, who
say they lost statewide referendums to well-financed, pro-marijuana forces.

Bennett said he is working with Congress to cut federal aid to states that
pass such initiatives.

Meanwhile, a handful of opponents from the Coalition Advocating Medical
Marijuana held a parking-lot news conference to counter what they described
as law enforcement ``hysteria.''

``The difference between us and the people inside is that we have a
devastating disorder,'' Irvin Rosenfeld said while smoking a thick
marijuana joint. The Boca Raton stockbroker, 45, is one of eight people
nationwide who receives legally prescribed marijuana from the government as
treatment for his bone tumors.

Cohan, an assistant medical professor at UCLA and whose medical firm
includes the largest HIV and AIDS practice in the nation, said there is no
need to ever smoke marijuana as medicine.

It has four times the tar of tobacco and has assorted carcinogens and
contaminants, including fungal spores, he said.

Better drugs can control nausea, appetite loss, pain or depression --
including a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in pot, Cohan said.

``People are looking at marijuana as a way of possibly taking control
themselves,'' he said. ``The notion that there's one cure-all, smokable
substance is absurd.''

(c) 1998 Orlando Sentinel

Checked-by: Richard Lake