NEW POT LAWS DON'T HELP POLICE

WASHINGTON -(AP)- Law enforcement officials in four of the states that allow
medical use of marijuana say the laws have had minimal impact on
crimefighting, though they at times complicate prosecution of drug cases, a
congressional report said Friday.

The report by the General Accounting Office said a small fraction of people
in Oregon, Hawaii and Alaska used marijuana for medical purposes. The
results in California, the fourth state studied, were limited to four
counties.

The GAO found that about 2,450 people in Oregon, Hawaii and Alaska use
marijuana for medical purposes -- accounting for no more than 0.05 percent
of the population in any of the states.

Data from the three states showed that more than 70 percent of medicinal
marijuana users from each state were at least 40 years old.

The report provided no statewide data for California. That state does not
require medicinal marijuana users to register, though about 4,500 people
have done so voluntarily in four counties, according to the GAO.

Nevada, Colorado, Washington and Maine also have allowed medical uses for
marijuana but were not examined by the GAO.

In a review of the report, Acting Assistant Attorney General Robert
Diegelman wrote that the state marijuana laws have resulted in a "worsening
of relations between federal, state and local law enforcement."

Also, he said, the laws create "legal loopholes for drug dealers and
marijuana cultivators to avoid arrest and prosecution."