IT'S ABOUT PAIN, NOT POT

A misinformed complaint by an Oklahoma senator regarding a $148,000,
federally funded study at Washington State University Vancouver does
a major disservice to both the scientific community and to people
suffering chronic pain ("U.S. senator rips Oregon for 5 projects," June 20).

It is misleading to characterize the WSU Vancouver research as a
"marijuana study" when in fact it is a chronic pain treatment study.

The objective of the grant is to examine interactions between
cannabinoids and opioids in the brain. If WSU's preliminary data are
correct, these interactions could provide groundbreaking treatments
for people who are suffering. Its early findings are especially
notable as they relate to other pain-management research.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) found the study to be worthy
during a highly competitive selection process.

Breakthroughs in this promising area could impact not only medicine
and the quality of human life, but it also could have major
economic-development implications. Chronic pain affects millions of
people in this country and costs billions of dollars annually in lost
productivity and medical costs. This grant has the potential to be an
extremely cost-effective investment in health care and the economy if
better treatments for pain can be developed as a result.

Howard Grimes

vice president for research

dean of the graduate school

Washington State University