cannabisnews.com: Nevada To Vote on 'Reeferendum'





Nevada To Vote on 'Reeferendum'
Posted by CN Staff on October 19, 2002 at 11:38:26 PT
By Bob Keefe, West Coast Bureau
Source: Austin American-Statesman 
Smoking tobacco in public places might be illegal in other states, but you can light up just about anywhere in Nevada. Need a drink? They're free in most casinos, as long as you gamble. Las Vegas Boulevard is crowded with hawkers handing out pictures of naked women who will come to your hotel room for a private striptease or something more. Prostitution is legal in most parts of Nevada, and even in Las Vegas it is often winked at. 
And soon, you might be able to do something else in Nevada that you can't do in any other state without a doctor's prescription: legally smoke marijuana. If Nevada voters approve, it would no longer be a crime for anyone 21 or older to possess up to 3 ounces of pot -- enough for between 150 and 250 marijuana cigarettes -- within the state's borders. The reefer referendum has a long way to go before proponents can legally fire up a joint. Even if it passes Nov. 5 -- early voting started Saturday -- under Nevada law it must be approved in a second referendum in 2004. So far, polls show voters split evenly on the idea. Proponents say legalizing pot would free police to work on more serious crimes such as rape or murder. Opponents, led by law enforcement agencies, say making another mind-altering drug legal would lead to other crimes, from dangerous driving to sexual assaults to the use of harder drugs. "I can't imagine how we can throw another illicit drug into the mix, and people can believe in any way, shape or form that it would be a good thing," said Sgt. Rick Barela, spokesman for the Las Vegas Metro Police and a cop for more than 20 years. Nonetheless, advocates' claims that smoking pot is good for medicinal purposes -- cancer and AIDS treatment among them -- have put marijuana laws under pressure nationwide, particularly in the West. Eight states have already legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. All but one, Maine, is in the West. Along with Nevada, the others are Colorado, California, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Alaska. In Arizona, voters will decide Nov. 5 whether to reduce the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana from a felony with possible jail time to a $250 civil fine. In Ohio, voters will consider a referendum in November that could allow people arrested for marijuana or other drugs to opt for state-paid drug treatment instead of incarceration. But for pot advocates, the Nevada initiative would be the big score. If it passes, proponents say, look for other states to follow. "Literally, you're going to have tens of thousands of people who are currently illegally using marijuana who will suddenly be legally using it," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C., group behind the Nevada measure. The group is working on getting similar ballot initiatives elsewhere, and was behind referendum efforts that failed in Florida and Washington, D.C. Even if Nevada and other states soften their marijuana laws, pot smokers and cops alike will still face a confusing conundrum when it comes to cannabis. While local police might not be able to arrest recreational pot users, possession of marijuana is still illegal under federal law. Federal authorities last month shut down a well-known medicinal marijuana operation in Santa Cruz, Calif., but not without raising protests that reverberated in demonstrations nationwide in places such as Austin and Washington, D.C. After the raid, the local police chief pulled his officers off the federal marijuana task force that conducted the Santa Cruz raid, citing clear conflicts of interest. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, meanwhile, fired off a letter of complaint to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, calling the raids "wasteful, unwise and surprisingly insensitive," given California laws allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Federal drug czar John Walters, who is making marijuana a major target because of its widespread use, has made his position on Western reefer referendums clear. During a swing through Arizona and Nevada this month, Walters called the Arizona ballot initiative a "stupid, insulting con." In Nevada, he chastised proponents of pot legalization, saying he didn't think Nevada should become a "center for drug tourism." Exactly how federal law enforcement officials will react if the initiatives pass, though, is unclear. Theoretically, federal agents could crack down hard on marijuana users even if they aren't violating state law, but Walter's office has stopped short of saying it will push for that. According to the agency and others, smoking pot can lead to health problems ranging from respiratory infections to memory loss and panic attacks. Walters also has blamed marijuana usage for 20 percent of all auto wrecks, and considers it a "gateway" drug that can lead to addiction to more dangerous drugs such as cocaine. Advocates of marijuana disagree, saying that federal and local officials simply refuse to admit that they've wasted billions of dollars and countless hours trying to eliminate a drug that's not that harmful. "There's sort of a widespread recognition in our society that the drug war has failed," Kampia said. "So now the question becomes, what do you do to fix things?" Nevada's dope debate is already causing plenty of acrimony. Last week, the chief spokesman for law enforcement groups against the initiative was forced out or quit -- depending on whom you ask -- after alleging drug cartels had links to the local measure. Opponents, meanwhile, are taking issue with what they call trickery by the boosters behind the initiative. While operating under a group called Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the effort is heavily backed and financed by Kampia's Washington, D.C., group. "That's the first lie these people perpetrated on the public," said Barela, adding that the confusing name is resulting in irate calls from residents who think Las Vegas law enforcement is behind marijuana legalization. "They're not Nevadans, they're not law enforcement and they're surely not responsible," he said. Note: Early voting is under way on measure to decriminalize marijuana possession.Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX)Author: Bob Keefe, West Coast BureauPublished: Saturday, October 19, 2002Copyright: 2002 Austin American-StatesmanContact: letters statesman.comWebsite: http://www.austin360.com/aas/Related Articles & Web Sites:NRLEhttp://www.nrle.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Nevada Pushes Next Frontier: Legalizing Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14503.shtmlPondering The Ballot Questionshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14491.shtmlAn 'Out-of-State' Campaign http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14448.shtml 
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Comment #6 posted by Nasarius on October 20, 2002 at 08:22:53 PT
Initiative!
afterburner is quite correct. An initiative is started by the citizens; a referendum is started by the state legislature. Both are voted on by the general populace.
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on October 19, 2002 at 18:45:41 PT
Minimum requirement..
National Coalition Files Rescheduling Petition for Medical Cannabis
Oct. 17, 2002http://www.lindesmith.org/news/10_17_02cannabis.cfm 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------A coalition of organizations advocating medical access to cannabis filed a comprehensive rescheduling petition with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on October 9, 2002. The DEA currently classifies marijuana as a schedule I substance, which prohibits medical access to cannabis and places both costly and severe restrictions on further medical research. The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis has provided detailed evidence challenging DEA's determination that cannabis has no accepted medical use in the United States. This petition seeks to have marijuana removed from schedule I and place in a less restrictive schedule that provides for medical use based on a doctor's prescription. If successful, this petition would also eliminate the clash between federal law and the laws of states that accept and recognize the medical use of cannabis.According to the petition: "Key developments in the assessment of marijuana's medical use include: acceptance of marijuana's medical use by health care professionals; recognition of marijuana as a medicine of last resort by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences; recognition of the therapeutic properties of cannabinoids by the scientific community and health care providers; the emergence of basic research explaining the mode of action of cannabis-based medicines; the emergence of clinical research on the medical use of cannabis; and acceptance of marijuana's medical use by eight states. These developments contradict the [current] classification of marijuana as having no accepted medical use in the United States."To learn more please visit: www.drugscience.org
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Comment #4 posted by afterburner on October 19, 2002 at 18:13:36 PT:
Initiative & Referendum...Get It Straight
In many states, citizens have the ability to adopt laws or to amend the state constitution. This is commonly referred to as the Initiative process. In many of the same states, as well as others, the citizens have the ability to reject laws or amendments proposed by the state legislature. This process is commonly referred to as the Referendum process. The Initiative process is used much more frequently than the Referendum process and is considered by many the more important and powerful of the two processes. 
 
There is no national Initiative process in the United States, but 24 states (see page two for complete list) have some form of Initiative -- either Direct or Indirect. Initiative & Referendum Institute
http://www.iandrinstitute.org/"I believe in the Initiative and Referendum, which should be used not to destroy representative government, but to correct it whenever it becomes misrepresentative." Teddy Roosevelt Thomas Jefferson was a strong advocate of the Legislative Referendum process and first proposed its use in the 1775 Virginia state constitution.
Initiative and Referendum Map
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Comment #3 posted by DdC on October 19, 2002 at 16:18:17 PT
As the D.E.A.th list grows...
Sgt. Rick Barela, spokesman for the Las Vegas Metro Police ,
Jack Foote, the spokesman for Ranch Rescue. About 13 volunteers for the group, called Ranch Rescue, Roger Barnett
U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic,
William Schilling ,
Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher,
Preble County,Ohio SWAT team ,
Iron County, Utah Attorney Scott Garrett ,
Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Wong ,
Union-Tribune Editorial ,
Clark County, Nevada Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker,
state Sen. Joe Neal the Democratic candidate for governor of Nevada, 
President George W. Bush, 
Vice President Dick Cheney, 
LaRouche organization,
Nevada Board of Health Dr. Joey Villaflor, chairman of the board,
Riverside County,CA prosecutor assigned to the case, Cynthia Brewer,
Bush's Office of National Drug Control Policy appointed drug czar John P. Walters,
D.E.A.th head salesman Asa Hutchinson,
Attorney Germinal John Ashcraft,
Matt Salmon and Janet Napolitano, the current state Attorney General and former U.S. Attorney for Arizona.
Ronald P. Pierini, Sheriff of Douglas County Nevada,
Pima County Arizona cops, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and County Attorney Barbara LaWall,
DEA spokesman Will Glaspy,
Gregory M. Gassett is assistant special agent in charge for the Seattle Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, 
Pedro Morales, Reno Gazette-Journal, 
Dick Foreman Arizona Republican, Harry J. Anslinger, U.S. Commissioner of Narcotics
Robert Stutman, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent,
Tom Gardner,
Pennington County (SD) States Attorney Glenn Brenner,
Brad Schreiber, a Belle Fourche,SD Attorney. DEA Chief Administrator Robert Bonner 
Republican attorney general candidate Brian Sandoval, Democrat John Hunt, Non-partisan sheriff's candidates Randy Oaks a police captain, and Bill Young a Las Vegas deputy police chief, Republican district attorney candidate David Roger, Democratic opponent, Mike Davidson, Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm, Municipal Judge John Whiteside, 
The Arizona Pharmacy Association and the Arizona Society of Health System Pharmacists, Pati Urias, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Attorney General's Office, Pima County,Az Attorney Barbara LaWall, a Democrat, Sgt. Mike Bonin, a DPS spokesman, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Steve Gust, a spokesman, 
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Comment #2 posted by delariand on October 19, 2002 at 16:16:25 PT
dumbass...
"I can't imagine how we can throw another illicit drug into the mix, and people can believe in any way, shape or form that it would be a good thing," said Sgt. Rick Barela, spokesman for the Las Vegas Metro Police and a cop for more than 20 years. What's this nonsense about throwing another illicit drug into the mix? I don't know what rock you've been under, but people have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years. Nobody's throwing anything into anything, it's already there! It's been there! FOR A WHILE! For someone with this much experience as a police officer, you'd think this guy would have noticed that pot's been around, regardless of whether the law says it's allowed to be or not.
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on October 19, 2002 at 14:23:36 PT
Mr. Barela must be talking about the DEA
"They're not Nevadans, they're not law enforcement, and they're surely not responsible."
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