MARIJUANA HAS LITTLE VALUE AS MEDICINE, STUDY SAYS.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

The idea that smoking marijuana has medical value is a pipe dream, voter sentiment in Arizona and California notwithstanding, according to one of two studies released Wednesday.

Marijuana's active ingredient, THC, was proven effective in fighting nausea after chemotherapy and in restoring appetite in AIDS patients, according to the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

But pure THC, which is currently available by prescription as dronabinol, offers better medicinal benefits than smoking the drug, according to Dr. Eric A. Voth and Dr. Richard H. Schwartz, the study's authors.

``I don't see any advantage of smoking pot any more than I would suggest there's an advantage of smoking tobacco for weight control or anxiety,'' Voth said. The issue gained momentum in November when voters in Arizona and California passed ballot initiatives legalizing prescription of marijuana for medical uses.

In another study, 10 years of mortality data for more than 65,000 men and women found no statistically significant association between marijuana and death.

The study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente research scientists, focused on patients 15 to 49.

In men, the study found marijuana use was associated only with deaths from AIDS, although scientists said the reason was that during the 1980s cannabis use was higher among homosexual men and bisexual men than among heterosexuals.

In women who smoked marijuana, the study found the risk of accidental death rose to an almost statistically significant level.

About a third of Americans over 12 are estimated to have used marijuana, making it the most popular drug in the country, said Dr. Stephen Sidney, senior epidemiologist with the Division of Research in Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Region.