POT USE OUT OF CONTROL 'IT GROWS EVERYWHERE'

WASHINGTON -- Marijuana use worldwide is out of control because the
plant grows everywhere, is in high demand and is considered by many to
be harmless, a UN agency said yesterday.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime, highlighted the marijuana problem at a news conference where he
released his office's 2006 World Drug Report.

While governments around the world generally have succeeded in
containing use of heroin, cocaine and amphetamines, marijuana is a
different story, Costa said.

Increased THC Content

"It's out of control in supply because it's a weed; it grows
everywhere. It's out of control in demand because it's erroneously
considered a light drug," he said. "Indeed, it is extremely
problematic because of much-increased THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, content."

The UN report generally was upbeat, boasting gains including that
opium poppy cultivation was down 22% in 2005.

It attributed the decline in opium poppy cultivation to cutbacks in
the world's three main source countries of illicit opium: Afghanistan,
Myanmar and Laos. Opium is the main ingredient for heroin.