Pubdate: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 Source: Republican, The (MA) Copyright: 2004 The Republican Contact: http://www.masslive.com/republican/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3075 Note: Letters to the editor must include the writer's name, address and telephone number in order to be considered for publication. Cited: University of Massachusetts-Amherst http://www.umass.edu/plsoils/index.html Referenced: the DEA lawsuit http://www.maps.org/mmj/dealawsuit.pdf Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin