RESEARCH GOING TO POT

Lyle E. Craker, director of the Medicinal Plant Program at the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst, is authorized by the federal government to conduct
medical marijuana research, but it won't let him grow the drug.

How dopey is that?

Craker is a plaintiff in one of two lawsuits filed Wednesday accusing
the government of violating federal law by obstructing medical
marijuana research. The Amherst campus is one of the nation's most
distinguished research universities, and Craker is immensely qualified
to grow marijuana for legitimate medical and research studies.

The Drug Enforcement Agency should approve Craker's 3-year-old
application so he can proceed with legitimate research projects that
will one day mean relief for terminally ill Americans or those with
debilitating illnesses. Approval will allow Craker to establish a
facility on the Amherst campus to produce marijuana for U.S. Food and
Drug Administration-approved research. And, one day, another feather
in the UMass cap.