cannabisnews.com: Nevadans To Vote on Legalizing Marijuana





Nevadans To Vote on Legalizing Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on August 20, 2002 at 08:32:39 PT
By Steve Wiegand -- Bee Staff Writer
Source: Sacramento Bee
The state that turned "sin" into "$in" is at it again. With the unique history of having already legalized -- and profited from -- gambling, brothels and quickie divorces, Nevada voters will decide in November whether their state should become the first in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use and tax it.The initiative also puts Nevada at the center of the ongoing battle between the federal government and the states over who gets the last word about marijuana laws.
"It begins a long-overdue serious debate on the legalization of marijuana," said Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). "If it wins in Nevada, my guess is we can probably take it to other states and have them take a serious look at it as well."That is exactly what worries federal law enforcement, already in a fight with several states over the use of marijuana as medicine."Let's not kid ourselves," White House drug czar John Walters told an anti-drug convention in Las Vegas last month. "This initiative is about helping the marijuana dealers by making it easier to buy and sell on a wider scale and eventually legalize all drugs."Twelve states, including California, have laws that penalize possession of small amounts of marijuana with as little as a simple fine.But Nevada's proposed constitutional amendment, Ballot Question 9, would go much further: It would be legal for anyone over 21 to possess three ounces or less of the drug.It also would require the legislature to come up with a way to license businesses to sell marijuana and to establish a tax and license fee schedule equivalent to the tobacco taxes and fees.Proponents have declined to estimate how much the state might reap from marijuana sales. But Nevada, which like California is facing a gaping state budget deficit, collected $43.6 million in cigarette taxes in the fiscal year that ended June 30.The measure would ban advertising pot or importing it from outside the state and prohibit its use in a vehicle or public place.Under Nevada law, even if voters approve the measure this year, they would have to reconfirm it in 2004. It would not go into effect until January 2005.Question 9 isn't the only marijuana-themed measure on U.S. ballots this fall, although it is the most sweeping in scope.In Arizona and the District of Columbia, voters are to decide whether to join nine other states, including California, that already allow access to marijuana for people with a doctor's prescription.In Congress, a strange-bedfellow coalition of liberals and conservatives is pushing a bill to grant federal approval to any state that adopts a medical marijuana law.Closer to home, a San Francisco ballot measure would direct officials to investigate whether the city should grow marijuana on vacant city property and distribute it to those with medical needs.The Nevada initiative has its roots in the 2000 election, when state voters approved legalizing the drug's use as medicine. Last year, the legislature reduced penalties for possession of less than an ounce from a felony to a $600 fine.The hefty 69 percent "yes" vote for that measure encouraged national pro-marijuana groups to push the electoral envelope."Nevada was the only state that had reduced penalties in more than a decade," said Billy Rogers, on leave from the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project to run the pro-Question 9 campaign. "So we thought public support was here for this ... and we thought there was a track record in the legislature here to make it work if it's approved."There is also Nevada's history of being a step ahead or out of step with the rest of the country.Strapped for cash in the early 1930s, Nevada became the first state in the 20th century to legalize gambling. The state now gets 37 percent of its operating revenue from the industry.It also reduced the wait for a divorce to six weeks, attracting disaffected spouses from all over the country and, for a time, generating $5 million a year in divorce-related revenues.Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/4055109p-5080510c.htmlSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Steve Wiegand -- Bee Staff WriterPublished: Tuesday, August 20, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NRLE: http://www.nrle.org/NORML: http://www.norml.org/Marijuana Policy Project: http://www.mpp.org/Vote May Affect National Policyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13805.shtmlSmoke Signals - Las Vegas Weekly http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13802.shtmlAre Nevadans Ready To Roll Dice on Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13765.shtmlPot Proponents Have Good Points http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13757.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by culebra on August 20, 2002 at 12:56:28 PT
John...John...John
Only a man like Walters would find nothing wrong with starting a sentence with "Let's not kid ourselves", and then proceed to kid himself. 
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Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on August 20, 2002 at 10:32:05 PT
Nevada
In Nevada, the police can electronically follow you without a search warrant.Follow the links, much more to read:
http://www.hereinreality.com
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Comment #3 posted by greenfox on August 20, 2002 at 10:17:56 PT
More forced treatment
holy poop, it's a weed!Just a plant for all to seeJust a weed for all to smoke,wait, it's illegal, is this some sort of joke?I laugh when I exhale from the Afghani SkunkI like it much better than legally being drunkI laugh when I trip, I laugh when I smokeBut I can't laugh at prohibition, for it ain't no f*cking joke!sly in green, foxy in kind,,,,-=gf
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Comment #2 posted by greenfox on August 20, 2002 at 10:15:44 PT
John walters aka... Adolf Hitler
Let's not kid ourselves..... legalizing politicians is an open door for stupidity and DEAth of all sorts. These "so-called" politicians are dealing propoganda DEAth to our kids.....prop...a...gannnnda....
proooop....o......gannnder....
prop...oh....canada...sig,fik,,,,,,,,
-gf
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on August 20, 2002 at 09:02:36 PT
nice article
If you read the full version, the last paragraph has a ringing endorsement of the referendum.The article mentions that Nevada has high rates of personal bankruptcy, suicide, and tobacco use. How does prostitution and gambling affect suicide??? I'd like to know what the rate of prostitutes that get assaulted or killed is compared with the rest of the U.S. Or how many people catch HIV due to prostitution vs. the rest of the US.
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