cannabisnews.com: Nevada Becomes Marijuana Battle Ground





Nevada Becomes Marijuana Battle Ground
Posted by CN Staff on July 24, 2002 at 07:47:11 PT
By The Associated Press 
Source: Reno Gazette-Journal 
Nevada is becoming a national battleground in the war to make possession of small amounts of marijuana legal. The Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based group that advocates the decriminalization of marijuana, collected enough signatures to put an initiative to legalize possession of less than three ounces of pot on the November ballot.As Secretary of State Dean Heller held televised forums Monday and Tuesday to come up with the language for the question, White House drug czar John Walters prepared to step into the fray today with a visit to Las Vegas.
“If the measure passes here, director Walters feels that it will make Nevada the nation’s marketplace for marijuana,” Walters’ spokesman Tom Riley told the Las Vegas Sun. “So this is not just a state issue, but one of national importance.”Walters will speak to 3,000 law enforcement officers attending the national DARE conference this week at the Las Vegas Hilton. His visit is primarily to promote President Bush’s National Drug Control Policy Strategy, which calls for a 10 percent reduction in drug use over two years and 25 percent over five years.Billy Rogers, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, said opponents are full of “a lot of hot air” in criticizing the petition.“Nevadans are independent and are sick and tired of the federal government stepping in and telling them what to do and how to vote on Nevada laws,” Rogers said.He said the marijuana measure calls for strict penalties for people who smoke marijuana in public, sell pot to minors or drive under the influence.“The public is pretty smart. It knows the difference between marijuana and hard drugs,” he said. “And those who say our ballot question is aimed at opening the floodgates to legalizing all drugs are telling outright lies.”Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell said he hopes Walters’ message “will make it clear that the use of marijuana can lead to serious consequences that people should consider before (supporting those) giving its use credence.”Only one opponent of the initiative showed up at Monday night’s forum in Reno. Heller said he invited the Washoe County district attorney to send a representative, but no one from the office appeared.Most of the callers to the hourlong program were also supporters, voicing their approval of the plan that would also allow the state to open shops to sell small amounts of marijuana.Changes in state law made Nevada a logical place for the war to decriminalize pot, said Rogers, who also serves as spokesman for Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement.Voters twice passed a ballot initiative to make medical use of marijuana legal, and in the last Legislature the law was changed to make possessing less than one ounce of pot a misdemeanor instead of a felony. Before that action Nevada had one of the strictest marijuana laws in the nation.The current ballot question would change Nevada’s constitution to allow a person to possess up to three ounces of marijuana and not be charged with a crime.The question must be approved in November and again in 2004 to become law.Source: Reno Gazette-Journal (NV)Published: July 23, 2002Copyright: 2002 Reno Gazette-Journal Website: http://www.rgj.com/Contact: rgjmail nevadanet.comRelated Articles & Web Sites:NRLEhttp://www.nrle.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/State at Front Line in Pot Debatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13513.shtmlReno-Area Officials Oppose Marijuana Measurehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13502.shtmlVoters Split on Marijuana Issuehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13501.shtmlPublic Officials Slam Marijuana Ballot Measure http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13496.shtmlDEA Director Criticizes Marijuana Ballot Measure http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13388.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment