UMASS PROF SEEKS POT PERMIT

A University of Massachusetts plant and soil sciences professor has
applied to the federal government to grow high-quality marijuana for
medicinal research. The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement
Administration is seeking comments by Sept. 22 - but only from a
limited category of people - before ruling on the proposal.

If approved, UMass would be the only other legal grower of marijuana
for research purposes besides the University of Mississippi, which has
supplied the National Institute on Drug Abuse with marijuana for 30
years.

Lyle Craker, director of the medicinal plant program at UMass, first
applied to the DEA in June 2001, for permission to grow an initial 25
pounds of high-potency marijuana. It would be supplied to
government-approved researchers working on therapies for treating
symptoms of AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis and in alleviating
pain and other side effects of chemotherapy.

Craker proposes to grow the marijuana, a more potent grade than that
grown in Mississippi, in a secure building on campus. He would receive
funding from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic
Studies, a Florida-based nonprofit research and educational
organization that seeks to develop marijuana as a prescription
medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"My current thought is that there has not been sufficient testing to
tell whether this is a drug that can help people or not," Craker said.
"If I look at this as a potential medicinal plant, than it is our
responsibility to see that this plant material is investigated, so
that the questions of whether it has medical significance or not can
be answered."

Craker said he has been working closely with DEA officials from
Connecticut, some of whom visited the Amherst campus in December to
review the specifics of his application, but it is unclear how or when
the DEA will rule. "There is a lot of pressure (to oppose his
application), and they're trying to respond to that in an honest way,"
Craker said.

Public notice of Craker's application in the July 24, 2003, Federal
Register limits those people who may file comments or objections to
his plan to "any person who is presently registered with DEA to
manufacture such substances..."

Massachusetts Congressmen John Olver, Barney Frank, James McGovern,
William Delahunt and Michael Capuano, who support Craker's proposal,
wrote to DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson in June 2002, urging the
agency to license privately funded sources of marijuana.

In a prepared statement issued Wednesday, Olver said, "I urge the Drug
Enforcement Administration to grant UMass Amherst a license to
manufacture marijuana for scientific and medical uses approved by the
FDA and DEA. Further scientific research into the risks and benefits
of the potential uses of marijuana would be in the best interest of
all medical patients and their families."

Referring to the potential therapeutic benefits of marijuana, Olver
added, "I believe that individuals who are seriously ill should have
access to marijuana in order to ease their pain. Common sense dictates
that we should do everything in our power to provide treatment for
victims of diseases like cancer and AIDS, including allowing them to
have access to this treatment that has been shown to relieve suffering."

But in his July 1, 2002, response addressed to Frank, Hutchinson
argued against expanding the number of marijuana producers, saying
that, "For more than 30 years, the University of Mississippi has
produced an adequate supply to meet the entire United States demand
for research-grade marijuana. There is no indication that this supply
is currently inadequate or will become inadequate in the future."