MARIJUANA LEGALLY SOLD IN DUTCH PHARMACIES

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Just what the doctor ordered?

Pharmacies may fill prescriptions for marijuana and patients can get the
cost covered by insurance, according to a law that went into effect yesterday.

Doctors in the famously liberal Netherlands have long recommended marijuana
to cancer patients as an appetite enhancer and to combat pain and nausea.
But it is usually bought at one of the country's 800 "coffee shops," where
the plant is sold openly while police look the other way.

The law also seeks to standardize levels of THC, the psychoactive chemical
found in marijuana. The percentage of THC in Dutch marijuana has increased
sharply in the past several years.

The Dutch parliament approved the change in policy by a large majority in
2001. The law stipulates that patients can get medical coverage for
marijuana use, though most policies don't yet cover pot.

Kuik said that the Dutch government will license several official growers
later this year. In the meantime, pharmacies will have to decide for
themselves where to get the marijuana.