GROUP UPSET OVER LIBRARIES' REJECTION OF MARIJUANA RESEARCH BOOK

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Cheryl Weeks recognized instantly that some people
would take exception to a book that discredits what it calls the ``myths''
about marijuana.

In a library, though, a diversity of viewpoints is a treasured goal.

So Weeks, a Binghamton high school librarian, said yes to the book when
some of her other peers said no.

``On most issues, such as abortion, birth control, we try to represent all
sides. This was just one side of another issue,'' Weeks said Monday.

``Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence''
is earning praise as one of the most comprehensive reviews ever assembled
about research on the drug.

But Binghamton was the only one of five school districts in upstate New
York to accept the book when it was offered as a donation by a
Syracuse-based group that advocates a rethinking of what it calls the
nation's failed drug policy.

``We don't see it as an advocacy book. It's a comprehensive review of the
existing literature,'' said Nicholas Eyle, executive director of ReconsiDer.

ReconsiDer, which includes doctors, judges and law enforcement officials,
offered the book to high school libraries in five major upstate cities:
Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.

Albany and Rochester rejected the book outright. In Buffalo and Syracuse,
the school districts' health committees are reviewing the book but are
expected to turn it down too, said Eyle.

Dave Albert, a spokesman for the Albany School District, said a veteran
librarian reviewed the book and decided it was ``biased and one-sided'' and
was contrary to school curriculum.

Additionally, the high school library already has a number of books on
marijuana it is collection, including one that deals directly with the
legalization of marijuana, Albert said.

``It's a tough situation. We certainly don't want to censor anything. But
on the other hand we want to make sure that the information is presented
accurately in a non-biased way and that both sides are presented,'' he said.

The Rochester school district rejected it on the same grounds, an official
said.

But Eyle scoffs at that reasoning, noting that nearly a third of the
233-page book is devoted to reference citations covering more than three
decades of studies.

It has earned praise from a wide spectrum of reviewers ranging from
conservative William F. Buckley Jr. to Rolling Stone magazine
editor-in-chief Jann Wenner.

It has also been commended by both University of Virginia law professor
John S. Battle, who was associate director of the National Commission on
Marihuana and Drug Abuse appointed by President Nixon, and Dr. Louis
Lasagna of Tufts University, who authored the National Academy of Sciences
1982 report on marijuana.

The book presents 20 assertions about marijuana, which the authors term
``myths.'' After citing the ``myth,'' each chapter cites sources for it and
gives the authors' conclusion in one hundred words. An essay follows
expounding on their reasons.

``We don't present marijuana as completely harmless but the information
does dispel many of the myths and exaggerations that have been promoted
over the years,'' said Lynn Zimmer, an associate professor of sociology at
Queens College in New York City. She is one of the books co-authors, along
with John P. Morgan, a pharmacologist from the City University of New York
Medical School.

The authors said they found that many claims regarding marijuana, while
based on a kernel of truth, have been exaggerated, distorted or politicized
to demonize a substance that an estimated 70 million Americans have tried.

Among the ``myths'' refuted:

- -Marijuana's harms have been proved scientifically.

- -Marijuana is highly addictive.

- -Marijuana is a gateway drug to harder drugs.

- -Marijuana kills brain cells.

- -Marijuana impairs memory and cognition.

- -Marijuana impairs the immune system.

- -Marijuana interferes with male and female sex hormones.

- -Marijuana today is more potent than in the past.