cannabisnews.com: Nevada's Big Gamble -- Whether To Legalize Pot Nevada's Big Gamble -- Whether To Legalize Pot Posted by CN Staff on October 28, 2002 at 06:16:40 PT By Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer Source: San Francisco Chronicle Las Vegas -- Sin City soon could be Sinsemilla City. Nevada, with a century-old tradition of minting money by sanctioning vice, now aims to be the first state in the country to legalize marijuana for recreational use. On election day, Silver State voters will decide on Question 9, which would amend the state constitution to allow possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana by anyone over 21. The so-called "reeferendum" also must win a second general election two years from now to take effect on Jan. 1, 2005. Nevada would tax marijuana, which police say now sells for about $300 an ounce, at 30 percent of the wholesale cost plus approximately 7 percent at retail. But the federal government is unlikely to look the other way if the state that pioneered legal prizefighting, prostitution and gambling gives new meaning to the term "high roller." "It would put state law there in Nevada in conflict with federal law," said Will Glaspy, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington. "It's really hard to speculate on any future law enforcement activity," he said, but added, "it's clear the Supreme Court has upheld that federal law supersedes state laws directly in regard to drug laws." VOTERS DIVIDED So far, many Nevadans appear to have cottoned to the idea. Backers got a record 110,000 signatures in just 40 days to put Question 9 on the ballot. Polls show voters evenly divided, but Nevada's largest newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, has endorsed the measure. Some residents say their state is being used as a giant petri dish by outsiders. "Charlatans and carpetbaggers" is how Sandy Heverly, executive director of Stop DUI and a leader of the opposition to legal marijuana, characterizes the group behind Question 9. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/10/28/MN22199.DTLSource: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer Published: Monday, October 28, 2002 Copyright: 2002 San Francisco Chronicle - Page A - 1 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Sites: NRLEhttp://www.nrle.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/ Nevada Divided on Issue to Legalize Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14576.shtmlThe New Politics of Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14574.shtmlNevada Should Back Question 9 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14539.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment