New Mexico Pot

SANTE FE, New Mexico--The National Institute of Drug Abuse yesterday sent capsules of federally-grown marijuana to four New Mexican cancer patients. A pioneering state law now permits use of the drug and its main component, THC, to ease side effects of chemotherapy.

"There is consistent evidence that marijuana does inhibit vomiting and facilitates sleep," George Goldstein, secretary of the state Health and Environment department, said yesterday. "There is some literature indicating that it also relieves pain," he added.

New legislation sets strict safeguards about the distribution of the marijuana. "It's much easier for a patient to get grass on the street" than under the program, Goldstein said.

Because the New Mexico law is the nation's first, it will be used as a model for programs in other states, Goldstein added.