MORE COLLEGE STUDENTS SAY 'YES' TO MARIJUANA

WASHINGTON - Much like their parents a generation ago, today's college
students are increasingly supportive of the legalization of marijuana.

"It's out there, but it isn't a big deal. If you don't smoke, you just
disregard it," said Amy Kim, a freshman at The University of Arizona. "I'm
not surprised students think it should be legalized because it's the most
accessible thing out there next to liquor."

Craig Brooks, 18, a freshman at George Washington University in Washington
said, "Cigarettes are worse. We all know that."

Fellow freshman Michelle Rubinstein piped up, "We just don't make an issue
of it. Marijuana is accepted."

The student comments underscore a growing trend among American youth.

Call it a shift from reefer madness to reefer gladness, as use of marijuana
rises along with support for its legalization, according to recent surveys
of student attitudes.

The affinity for marijuana flies in the face of growing conservatism in
other areas, according to surveys that show today's college freshmen are
more apt to favor restricting abortion rights and are less accepting of gay
relationships than students in recent years.

Support for marijuana legalization has grown among college freshmen from
just 16.7 percent in 1989 to 35.2 percent in 1997, according to a study by
the University of California, Los Angeles, for the Washington-based
American Council on Education.

Marijuana use among high school seniors also is rising. More than 50
percent of seniors say they have smoked it, compared to 33 percent who
admitted to its use in 1992, according to Dr. Lloyd Johnston, author of an
annual report on youth trends involving drugs for the National Institute on
Drug Abuse.

Reasons vary, according to experts. Some say the debate over medical
marijuana and possible beneficial effects for some ill people have softened
its image.

"The perception of risks in smoking marijuana is eroding. They don't see it
as dangerous," said Dr. Lloyd Johnston, program director at the University
of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

Others point to the fact that many parents of today's crop of college age
smokers are no strangers to marijuana use themselves during the pot-filled
days of the 1960s and '70s.

"More people are going by their own experiences," said Keith Stroup,
founder and executive director of the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws.

"For a long time, the government put out these reefer madness reports, and
they molded opinions. But now, when a third of the population have
experience with marijuana, they don't believe the government."

Steve Dnistrian, senior vice president of the Partnership for a Drug-Free
America, said he is disappointed by the survey results but not surprised.

The 1980s saw mew laws allowing the forfeiture of property seized during
drug arrests and an expansion of drug testing for public and private work
places in addition to first lady Nancy Reagan's "just say no" to drugs
campaign.

But those days are little more than a hazy recollection for some.

"We had the media focus. We had the government focus," Dnistrian said.
"Kids were exposed to the message and decided it wasn't worth it to smoke.
We burned out giving the message and the public burned out on hearing it."

What's filled the vacuum since, Dnistrian said, is tacit approval of
marijuana.

"Musicians started singing its praises openly and then sitcoms treated
smoking in a funny way," he said. "Then, marijuana leaves started showing
up on hats and shirts. And when the media started up with stories about how
the drug war was lost, our message was lost."