cannabisnews.com: Man Behind Marijuana Proposal Eschews Its Use





Man Behind Marijuana Proposal Eschews Its Use
Posted by CN Staff on September 01, 2002 at 07:58:48 PT
By Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital Bureau 
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal 
The man behind the drive to make Nevada the first state with legal marijuana says he never uses the stuff. "I have smoked in the past, more than 15 or 20 years ago, but I didn't like it," said Billy Rogers, campaign manager and spokesman for Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement. "It wasn't my cup of tea. I won't smoke if the question passes. It isn't something I choose to do." 
Reared in Austin, Texas, the 40-year-old Rogers remembers friends, some now lawyers and successful business owners, who were busted for small amounts of marijuana and then went through hell trying to clean up criminal records. "It is just awful that otherwise law-abiding citizens have to go through an arrest and be put in jail when prosecutors know it is not a serious crime," he said. "The greatest harm from marijuana is threat of jail." Despite all the laws against marijuana use, Rogers says studies show there are 11 million regular pot smokers in the United States, including 150,000 in Nevada. To him, cigarettes and alcohol are more harmful. "No one has overdosed from smoking marijuana," he said. "Certainly there are dangers associated with smoking marijuana. I don't advocate anyone using marijuana, but the criminal justice system should not be treating these people as criminals. Marijuana is not in the same ballpark as cocaine or heroin." Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick has become one of the most outspoken critics of Question 9. In his county, repeat marijuana offenders attend drug court classes. If they stay clean for a year, they receive a diploma, and their records are expunged. Clark County has a similar program. "I resent these people from Washington, D.C., and around the county trying to tell us what to do in our state," he said. Rogers resents those who consider him a carpetbagger. An avid sports fan and blackjack player, he said he has made three or four trips a year to Las Vegas since he was 21. "I have contributed my fair share to the economy here," he said. "If I am not a 20-year resident of Las Vegas, then I certainly feel like one. I have seen the city grow and change." He said people like Gammick are missing the message sent by the 110,000 Nevadans who signed the petition to put Question 9 on the Nov. 5 ballot. "We will win because we are protecting the privacy rights of people," he said. "Most Nevadans support that. This is not about the marijuana leaf, but the kind of law enforcement we are going to have in our state." Rogers moved to Las Vegas in May to take over the petition-gathering drive of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement. He had been hired in December by the Washington, D.C.-based Medical Marijuana Project as its director of state policies. During the spring, Rogers worked on efforts, so far unsuccessful, to establish medical marijuana programs in Vermont and Massachusetts. Then the Marijuana Policy Project offered him the job in Nevada. With passage of Question 9 in November and again in 2004, adult Nevadans would be permitted under the state constitution to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana in the privacy of their homes. Nevadans have already approved the use of medical marijuana, and about 200 have signed up for the program. For most of his adult life, Rogers ran political campaigns. He and his parents have all served as campaign managers for Democrats seeking the governor's office in Texas. During the 1998 gubernatorial campaign, Rogers represented Democrat Garry Mauro, a longtime friend, in his race against incumbent Gov. George W. Bush. Mauro lost by 36 percentage points. Rogers contended Bush took Mauro's message and increased education funding and teacher pay and reformed the laws governing HMOs. "The perception of Bush is as a conservative, but he did things Democrat governors haven't done, like raise teacher salaries and making inroads with the Hispanic community," Rogers said. Despite the loss, Rogers is proud Mauro took the high road in that campaign. There was no mention of speculation about whether Bush had previously used cocaine, or his drunken driving arrest in 1976, which was raised in the presidential campaign two years later. "Politics is a peaceful means of war," Rogers said. "You ought to be civil. It is not a blood sport." In the early 1990s, Rogers spent three years in Russia, editing the Moscow Guardian magazine and conducting seminars to try to teach ex-communists the benefits of capitalism. "It was surreal," Rogers said about his time in Russia. "I remember we had rock concerts for privatization. They are so far ahead of where they were in '91. The transformation has been amazing." He also spent two years running a Web site that provided sports information. The site relied on advertising revenue, which dried up in 2000 and 2001. "Talking about sports all day was like heaven," said Rogers, admitting he attended the University of Texas strictly to acquire good seats at Texas Longhorn football games. "Part of the fun of living in Las Vegas is the sports books. They are the next best things to going to stadiums."Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)Author: Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital Bureau Published: Sunday, September 01, 2002Copyright: 2002 Las Vegas Review-JournalContact: letters lvrj.comWebsite: http://www.lvrj.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NRLEhttp://www.nrle.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/DAs Will Question Legality of Ballot's Question http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13925.shtmlFirst-Time Marijuana Users Risk Serious Addictionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13916.shtmlPublic Officials Slam Marijuana Ballot Measure http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13496.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by boballen13 on September 02, 2002 at 00:52:32 PT:
GCW!... I AGREE!
If democracy is still a viable government... voting would be good... if your votes are nullified, god bless us all! I am up for trying the vote again... but i wont stand for bushits dancing around again! I never voted for the fuck... and christ be my god i sure wont vote for this manic next time! Remember our fallen... dont chamber a round yet.... steady as she goes!
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on September 01, 2002 at 19:12:26 PT
If normaly You shun the election process,
This is time to make an exception and go way out of Your way to vote.There is app. 1 month to register 
TO VOTE!
One of the things that needs to be done, is to make sure that people that are not registered are registered 30 DAYS in advance, of the election.The last 30 days, will require a lot of work, but at that time it will be too late for getting people reg... 
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Comment #1 posted by knox42897 on September 01, 2002 at 13:03:48 PT:
Nevadans thank you
"I resent these people from Washington, D.C., and around the county trying to tell us what to do in our state," he said. Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick I thank Mr. Rogers for all his outstanding work done for the state of Nevada.
Las Vegas Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement in the 
United States of America
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