The White House weighed in yesterday against a proposed D.C. ballot
initiative to legalize marijuana in the District for medical purposes.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey, President Clinton's chief drug policy adviser, said
that the administration continues to oppose efforts to legalize marijuana
through the ballot box.

He said in a letter to city officials that leaf marijuana has not met the
necessary scientific standards for approval as a safe and effective
medication.

A group of Washingtonbased AIDS activists is circulating petitions to put
the legalization initiative on the ballot in 1998. The group must collect
16,763 signatures by Dec. 8. The proposed initiative is similar to one
recently passed in California and would allow marijuana for medical treatment
when recommended by a licensed physician.

McCaffrey's letter said, "We must not send a mixed message to our youth about
the dangers of marijuana." He also said it was necessary to protect the
process by which medications are approved.

So far, McCaffrey said, the weight of scientific evidence demonstrates that
marijuana "is not a benign drug."

He said the federal government is studying what is known about the risks and
alleged benefits of marijuana for medical use. If evidence supports legal
reclassification of marijuana, he said, it could be done at the federal
level.