cannabisnews.com: Nevada is Not Just Blowing Smoke About Marijuana Nevada is Not Just Blowing Smoke About Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on August 10, 2002 at 10:03:40 PT By Ed Tant Source: Athens Banner-Herald "All great ideas are controversial, or have been at one time," said courageous American journalist George Seldes. In November, voters in Nevada will have a chance to vote on the great but still controversial issue of marijuana law reform. According to The New York Times of Aug. 2, "After voting two years ago to ease state drug laws, Nevada voters could go even further this year, making their state the first to legalize marijuana and derive taxes from a regulated sales system." This is an idea whose time has come in Nevada and around the nation. Billy Rogers of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the group that put the reform measure on the state's November ballot, told the Times, "Most Nevadans think it is a waste of taxpayers' money to arrest people for small amounts of marijuana when the time could be better spent arresting murderers and rapists.'' Actually, most Nevadans seem about equally divided over the issue. The Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest daily newspaper, polled voters in the Silver State and found that 44 percent of them favored the marijuana legalization initiative, 46 percent were against it and 10 percent were undecided. On July 7, the newspaper endorsed the idea, saying that current harsh pot laws push "the needless harassment of individuals who peacefully and privately use marijuana. Nine states have in the last six years passed initiatives allowing patients to use marijuana with a doctor's prescription to ease the symptoms of such ills as AIDS and cancer, and about a dozen states have ceased jailing citizens for possession of small amounts of cannabis since Oregon pioneered marijuana decriminalization in 1974. The proposed reforms in Nevada are far more sweeping than those in any other state. The initiative would end criminal penalties for possession of up to three ounces of the weed by citizens 21 or older and would, according to The New York Times, "direct the Legislature to treat marijuana much like tobacco products and alcohol, regulating it through a system that would oversee how it is grown, distributed and sold, generating tax revenue in the process." Pro-pot backers of the legalization measure say that, if enacted, it would have safeguards such as bans against advertising marijuana, selling it to anyone under 21 or selling it near schools or in public places such as parks. Keith Stroup of the Washington-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws called the Nevada proposal "a landmark initiative that seeks more than what any state has accomplished so far." He also admitted the federal government would probably never stand for the initiative. "It is highly unlikely that the federal government would allow a state to create a legal market," said Stroup, "What it would do is place enormous pressure on Congress to take a rational look at the nation's drug laws. As we begin to get more and more states considering legalization, it will be impossible for Congress to stand in their way." It's time for Congress, the courts and the White House to quit standing in the way of freedom and compassion on the marijuana issue. For too many decades, America's benighted pot laws have shown the hemp hypocrisy of both major political parties. Thirty years ago, in 1972, Republican President Richard Nixon ignored the results of a national commission that recommended reforms in the pot laws. In spite of the fact that the Nixon-era commission was chaired by a GOP governor of Pennsylvania, Nixon dismissed its findings by snarling on his now notorious White House tapes, "Every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana are Jewish.'' Under the White House administrations of both William J. "I Didn't Inhale" Clinton and George W. "I Won't Say if I Did or Didn't" Bush, marijuana arrests have soared to record numbers and cannabis clubs for medical marijuana buyers have been hounded by big government federal agents from both political parties. While Europe currently reaps the benefits of pot law reform there, American politicians of both major parties would do well to heed the wise words of Abraham Lincoln who said, "Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.'' Ed Tant has been an activist since 1968 and a journalist in Athens since 1974. Write him at P.O. Box 912, Athens, GA 30603-0912. Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, August 10, 2002. Complete Title: Nevada is Not Just Blowing Smoke About Marijuana Reform Source: Athens Banner-Herald (GA)Author: Ed TantPublished: Saturday, August 10, 2002Copyright: 2002 Athens Newspapers Inc.Contact: news onlineathens.comWebsite: http://www.onlineathens.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NRLE: http://www.nrle.org/NORML: http://www.norml.org/Marijuana Policy Project: http://www.mpp.org/Nevada Blazes Trail for Legal Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13689.shtmlNevadans Weigh Proposal to Make Marijuana Legalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13610.shtmlDEA Director Criticizes Marijuana Ballot Measurehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13388.shtmlMarijuana Proposal To Be On Ballothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13351.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 11, 2002 at 13:09:57 PT letsgetfree Very nice and thank you for sharing your poem. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by letsgetfree on August 11, 2002 at 12:55:43 PT ..... any criticism? comments? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Letsgetfree on August 11, 2002 at 09:47:26 PT What a beautiful piece Wow that is truely a great piece of writing there. Maybe it's because i'm stoned but it truely made me feel good reading it.on another subject i'd just like to share with you guys this poem i just wrote today...so if you'll indulge me...Democracy’s dead It was all in your head Freedom’s just another catch phrase to sell Another product on the shelf It tells you nothing about the reality Corporate sponsored atrocities Our plastic lies while the babies cry The truth is too bright It hurts our sight We turn our back and close our eyes But the babies still cry Why can’t you see why? Why can’t you see? Why? Why… Why not now? An opportune time to change everything And anything is possible if we unite Against those who would fight We the Peoples needs, And take down those whose Greed will always exceed The wildest dreams of those who are in need Of help and compassion, but who’s cries go unanswered The babies still die but you’ll never know why. Our societies are lies Built on guilt and slavery, Genocides and coupsKeep them all down Keep them all down Keep them all down Keep them all down while we build ourselves upGlutens and waste What a disgrace Learn to live simple and modest And make a promise, to the world and all its peoples That you’ll try your best, at all times and in all places To limit your needs And reign in your greed Because we’re all in this together until the endIt’s up to us now. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment