MARIJUANA-LEGALIZATION SUPPORT GROWS AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Much like their parents a generation ago, today's
college students are just saying yes to marijuana and are increasingly
supportive of its legalization.

"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,
D.C., said, "Cigarettes are worse. We all know that."

Fellow freshman Michelle Rubinstein added, "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, D.C.-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 with 33 percent who
admitted to its use in 1992, according to Dr. Lloyd Johnston, program
director at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and
the 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 Johnston.

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

The 1980s saw new 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."