cannabisnews.com: Vegas Measure Gambles on Marijuana Vegas Measure Gambles on Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on August 26, 2002 at 23:38:00 PT By John Ritter Source: AZCentral.com For 30 years, the campaign to legalize marijuana in America has gone nowhere. A few states have approved it for medical purposes. A few have removed criminal penalties for possessing small quantities. But no state has said, in effect, get high at your own risk.Now comes anything-goes Nevada, where prostitution is legal in some places, gambling fuels the economy and voters are among the nation's most independent-minded. After gaining a state-record 110,000 signatures, backers won a place on the November ballot for a measure that would legalize possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana. If it passes this year and again in 2004, the state's constitution will be amended, preventing politicians from circumventing the voters' will.Marijuana would be legally smoked in private, but public use would remain illegal. Despite warnings from Washington that legal pot conflicts with federal law, a recent poll shows Nevada voters evenly split.Marijuana-related measures will appear on four other ballots this year: Arizona, Ohio, Michigan and the District of Columbia. This continues a trend that has evolved slowly since 1973, when Oregon became the first state to decriminalize possession.Despite changing attitudes on illegal drugs and an electorate increasingly dominated by voters born during and after the Baby Boom, there's no consensus among demographers and social scientists that more states will follow Nevada. "It wouldn't surprise me if Nevada pioneers legalization," says Robert Lang, director of Virginia Tech's Metropolitan Institute. "But you can't bet on the Baby Boom being monolithic. There are a lot of Baby Boomers who rejected the '60s."Surveys show that about one-third of American adults - 80 million - have smoked marijuana, but Lang notes that many came of age during the "Just Say No" 1980s, when marijuana use declined.Baby Boomers are more liberal on social issues than previous generations, even as they age, says William Frey, a demographer at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica, Calif. "But it works two ways," he says. "They also see themselves more in the role of parents and guardians than they do as free spirits."Experts agree that Americans are moving away from the idea that drug use is a law enforcement problem and see it more as a health issue. Two of the November measures, in Ohio and Michigan, would give convicted drug users the option of treatment instead of jail. Californians approved a similar initiative in 2000.Proponents of the Nevada initiative are selling it partly on the basis of the impact marijuana cases have on the criminal justice system.On Aug. 6, the Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs endorsed the measure. Andy Anderson, then the president of the group representing more than 3,000 street cops, argued that officers spend time on marijuana possession cases that could be better spent investigating violent crimes."Some cops were upset with me," he says. "But there's a silent majority out there that agreed with our position. We weren't advocating the smoking of marijuana. All I'm saying is, let's not waste time arresting people for it when it's never going to be prosecuted and people really don't care."A Zogby poll in December found that 61 percent of Americans believe police shouldn't spend time dealing with minor marijuana offenders.The boost from the police group caused a sensation. But some of the state's sheriffs, police chiefs and district attorneys pressured Anderson to resign, and the group reversed its position. "We don't believe the initiative is a good thing for the public and certainly not a good thing for law enforcement," says detective David Kallas, executive director of the union that represents Las Vegas police.The measure's backers still claimed a victory. "The consensus had been that law enforcement was solidly opposed," says Billy Rogers, head of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the initiative's sponsor. "We certainly dispelled that notion."Rogers, on leave from the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates legalization, says Nevada was targeted because last year it became the first state in more than a decade to decriminalize marijuana. Possession of less than an ounce is a misdemeanor carrying a $650 fine. Before that, Nevada had the nation's toughest law - possession of a single marijuana cigarette was a felony. Nevada voters also approved a medical marijuana constitutional amendment by wide margins, 59 percent in 1998 and 65 percent in 2000.Since this year's measure qualified for the ballot, Asa Hutchinson and John Walters, heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, have visited to warn that legalizing pot would turn Nevada into a drug tourist spot."You're going to have a much more permissive environment," Hutchinson says. "People will be coming from other states to visit their relatives so they can use marijuana."Walters says that if the Nevada measure wins approval, he doubts the government will enforce federal law's flat ban on marijuana possession.Pot laws in many other Western nations are far more permissive. Great Britain recently decriminalized possession of small amounts. Canada is considering the same policy. Spain and Italy have sharply lowered penalties for marijuana use. In other countries, the drug remains illegal, but prosecutions are few.There's some sentiment in Congress for loosening marijuana laws. Though it's not expected to pass, a House bill, supported by more than two dozen members from both parties, would permit states to approve medical use of marijuana without risk of federal intervention.Backers of the Nevada measure to legalize up to 3 ounces are confident, although Rogers says he's not sure his group can afford TV time. It has raised about $150,000. The state's largest newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, came on board, arguing that legalization "would end the needless harassment of individuals who peacefully and privately use marijuana."Even so, demographer Frey says, "it's going to be a long time before this trend moves into the heartland. Maybe the coastal states, the big metro areas, where the more urbane Baby Boomers live."Source: AZCentral.com (AZ)Author: John RitterPublished: August 26, 2002Copyright: 2002 azcentral.comWebsite: http://www.azcentral.com/Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/help/comment-form.phpRelated Articles & Web Sites:NRLEhttp://www.nrle.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Nevada Ballot Question Would Make Pot Legal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13892.shtmlNevada Voters Decide on Legalizing Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13884.shtml The Pollster Who Answered a Higher Callinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13035.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #9 posted by The GCW on August 27, 2002 at 20:12:38 PT Is there a recent poll, it was 48%-48%??? Any recent juicy stats???pin the finger on the Ashcroft...gaming in Vegas.From damn Vegas to Vegasdaam.To this quote: "People will be coming from other states to visit their relatives so they can use marijuana." :Yes, except, there are no relatives, just a place for Me to dispence green American dollars for The Green God given herb of My choice.VEGAS, will expand their market, in a manner that is otherwise unavailable to them...I hope the troops are prepared for this squirmish against evil.There is app. 5 weeks left for people to register to vote.You know how some dogs look like owners??? Register everyone!!!The talk on the street! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by karkulus on August 27, 2002 at 17:43:18 PT Don't Trust That Fudge-Bag Walters!.... "Walters says that if the Nevada measure wins approval, he doubts the government will enforce federal law's flat ban on marijuana possession."...........Do you think that they're up in Canada trying to screw everything up as much as possible but they won't Down Here?? Guess again! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Dimebag on August 27, 2002 at 13:46:24 PT Coined One Better New Amsterdam!!! as opposed to Las VegasDamm... [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on August 27, 2002 at 11:43:42 PT Audio From The BBC on Nevada's Initiative http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/audio/38219000/rm/_38219232_marijuana08_willis.ram [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by jvthc on August 27, 2002 at 11:33:42 PT: Eh? Did I get this this right?Hutchinson is actually telling a state that depends on tourism for wealth, encouraging visitors to come boff their favorite selections at various brothels, and possibly gamble away their life savings while staying at a hotel until their broke - he's actually telling them it's bad because a new source of tourism would be created that might even get family members to visit someplace other than brothels and gambling establishments? What, was he a guest on SNL or something at the time? Let me see, now....- Increased tourism for a new attraction - Taxable product sales - Increased restaurant business - Sell / Tax more gas, tollsOk - I give up - what's the catch? ;)Oh, yeah, the state's gotta grow it themselves ;) [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on August 27, 2002 at 11:15:08 PT: There's the "P" word, again "You're going to have a much more permissive environment," Hutchinson says. "People will be coming from other states to visit their relatives so they can use marijuana."The word 'permissive' strikes a nerve with antis. They really start foaming at the mouth when they hear it; Pavlov would be proud. But what's behind it? Why the deep seated, reflexive reaction? Why the unthinking bellicosity?Jealousy, perhaps? The perception that in their miserable, belt-too-tight, shirt-too-tight, collar-too-tight...and hat-too-big...lives they feel they have not had the kind of opportunities to really enjoy life that they believe others have by being (Church Lady sniff with nasally, disapproving whine) "permissive". They generally associate that word with childrearing practices they deem too liberal. To them, they hate the kind of upbringing where children are expected to use their minds, instead of "Do as I say, not as I do!". Because the latter of the two was the authoritarian style they were brought up under.Whenever you have someone railing against immorality, you have to wonder what's up their sleeves to be such bugs about it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by knox42897 on August 27, 2002 at 10:55:27 PT: coffee shops Just wanted to ask if anyone wants to invest in a 420 friendly coffee shop in Las Vegas,NV? [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by st1r_dude on August 27, 2002 at 06:38:37 PT oooohhhhh my - not a MJ tourist state !!!! Since this year's measure qualified for the ballot, Asa Hutchinson and John Walters, heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, have visited to warn that legalizing pot would turn Nevada into a drug tourist spot. (yeah, no sh*t - that's the whole idea, you morons...tourism = money...last time i checked tourism is what keeps nevada on the map)"You're going to have a much more permissive environment," Hutchinson says. "People will be coming from other states to visit their relatives so they can use marijuana." (oh this is sO baaaaad, families visiting each other more frequently - to communicate and enjoy their time together)Walters says that if the Nevada measure wins approval, he doubts the government will enforce federal law's flat ban on marijuana possession. (at least he's aware enough to know that if he does that, it would get VERY ugly on capitol hill, very quickly - hee hee)go vegas, go vegas !!!! st1d [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by gloovins on August 27, 2002 at 03:01:15 PT ok i coined it 1st Las Vegasdam!!...er, Las Vegadaam?.. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment