SCIENTISTS SUE OVER MARIJUANA STUDIES

Government Agencies Accused Of Blocking Research

WASHINGTON - The government is violating federal law by
obstructing medicinal-marijuana research, scientists contend in
lawsuits seeking faster action on applications to grow the drug.

In lawsuits to be filed today, researchers assert that Washington is
refusing to act on legitimate research projects and delaying studies
that could lead to marijuana's use as a prescription drug.

``There is an urgent need for an alternative supply of marijuana for
medical research,'' said Lyle Craker, director of the Medicinal Plant
Program at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the main force
behind the lawsuits.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the Health and
Human Services Department, ``maintains a monopoly on research
marijuana. Many researchers believe that NIDA's monopoly is an
obstacle to getting needed studies done on a timely basis,'' Craker
said in a statement.

The lawsuits, which target the Drug Enforcement Administration, HHS,
NIDA and the National Institutes of Health, are being filed in the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Joining Craker in filing the suit are Rick Doblin, president of the
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, and Valerie
Corral, co-founder of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana in
Santa Cruz, who uses marijuana to control epileptic seizures.

The case claims an unreasonable delay in acting on a 3-year-old
application by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst to grow
marijuana for federally approved researchers.