IOC WEIGHS IN ON MEDAL CONTROVERSY

Caught off guard by the Ross Rebagliati-marijuana controversy, the IOC will
look into use of the drug by Olympic athletes, hoping to avoid future
misunderstandings and preserve "fundamental values." Rebagliati, the
Canadian snowboard champion, lost his gold medal temporarily, after testing
positive for marijuana, then got it back after winning an appeal on the
ground that pot was not among the drugs specifically forbidden in the
Olympics.

The IOC said at a press conference Saturday that the lack of an agreement
with the International Ski Federation, which has marijuana on its list of
banned drugs, left it with no choice but to return the medal.

"Because the agreement did not exist, no other judgment was possible," said
Francois Carrard, IOC director general. The IOC is working on a revised
medical code and hopes to have it in place before the 2000 Summer Games in
Sydney, Australia. Carrard said the five-member group scrutinizing
marijuana use will consider "matters of social and ethical concerns, and
fundamental values, which are at stake."

Copyright Los Angeles Times