Source: San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune (CA) Contact: http://www.sanluisobispo.com Pubdate: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 Page: B-10, Opinion section POT IS ON A ROLL It's not surprising, but nonetheless disappointing, that more young Americans than ever are smoking marijuana and finding nothing wrong with it. A new report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse finds that pot smoking among college freshmen has risen from 16.7 percent to 35.2 since 1989. The trend is equally alarming among high school seniors - from 33 percent to 50. Users argue that pot is less harmful than tobacco and alcohol. What's more, young people say, their parents smoked the weed, with no long-lasting damage to body or mind. It's hard to brush off such rationalizing. Still, we can't see marijuana legalized until the medical community comes up with research that minimizes the negative effects and opponents are ready to give up the fight against it. California has a pretty sensible law on marijuana. Its use is OK if approved by a doctor for a specific ailment. Unfortunately, pot zealots manage to find loopholes in the law or defy it outright. Not a pretty picture.