POT IS ON A ROLL

It's not surprising, but nonetheless disappointing, that more young
Americans than ever are smoking marijuana and finding nothing wrong with
it.

A new report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse finds that pot smoking
among college freshmen has risen from 16.7 percent to 35.2 since 1989. The
trend is equally alarming among high school seniors - from 33 percent to
50.

Users argue that pot is less harmful than tobacco and alcohol. What's more,
young people say, their parents smoked the weed, with no long-lasting
damage to body or mind.

It's hard to brush off such rationalizing.

Still, we can't see marijuana legalized until the medical community comes
up with research that minimizes the negative effects and opponents are
ready to give up the fight against it.

California has a pretty sensible law on marijuana. Its use is OK if
approved by a doctor for a specific ailment.

Unfortunately, pot zealots manage to find loopholes in the law or defy it
outright.

Not a pretty picture.