U.S. SAYS EARLY MARIJUANA USE LINKED TO MENTAL DISORDERS

WASHINGTON -- Youngsters who use marijuana are more likely to develop
serious mental health problems, the government said Tuesday. A private
group said law enforcement increasingly is targeting people who smoke
and deal the drug.

Government officials say recent research makes a stronger case that
smoking marijuana is a causal agent in psychiatric symptoms,
particularly schizophrenia.

"A growing body of evidence now demonstrates that smoking marijuana
can increase the risk of serious mental health problems," said John
P. Walters, director of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy.

Administration officials pointed to a handful of studies to make their
case. One, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, found adult marijuana smokers who first began using
the drug before age 12 were twice as likely to have suffered a serious
mental illness in the past year as those who began smoking after 18.

Those who first started as teens also were at significantly higher
risk.

Enforcement Policy Questioned

Also Tuesday, the Sentencing Project released a report that found the
government's "war on drugs" has become the "war on drug" as police
agencies increasingly target marijuana.

Of some 700,000 marijuana arrests in 2002, 88 percent were for
possession, it said. And only one of every 18 of those arrests ended
in a felony conviction.