cannabisnews.com: Bill Would Toughen Marijuana Laws





Bill Would Toughen Marijuana Laws
Posted by CN Staff on February 01, 2003 at 11:16:33 PT
By Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital Bureau 
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal 
Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, has a message for the Nevada Judges Association: Read the marijuana law she sponsored during the 2001 Legislature. The association wants the 2003 Legislature to pass a bill that would give judges the discretion to send first-time marijuana offenders to jail. Karen Kavanau, the association's lobbyist, said judges need the power to so they can force marijuana users into drug rehabilitation programs. She said users of an ounce or less of marijuana now are required to pay only a $600 fine. 
"The judges really would like that leverage," Kavanau said. "They need a tool to force them into rehabilitation. There is nothing there to get them off drugs." But Giunchigliani said her law already gives judges the leverage to put first-time offenders in rehabilitation programs. Under the law she sponsored, judges can require first-time offenders to pay a fine of as much as $600 or have drug treatment officials examine them to determine whether they are addicts who could benefit from rehabilitation. Second-time violators of the marijuana law can be fined as much as $1,000. They automatically are assigned to drug rehabilitation programs. Giunchigliani believes the association, which consists of municipal judges and justices of the peace, came up with the bill as a knee-jerk reaction to last fall's Question 9 campaign to legalize possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana in Nevada. Voters rejected the measure, 61 percent to 39 percent. During that campaign, Giunchigliani was a paid consultant to Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the organization that sought approval of the ballot question. The organization was funded by the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C., group that advocates decriminalizing marijuana. In addition, she said requiring jail time for users of small amounts of marijuana goes against the recommendation of the Rose Commission, a group of prominent citizens and judges who proposed in 1994 and in 2000 that Nevada decriminalize the use of an ounce or less of marijuana. The commission was led by Supreme Court Justice Bob Rose. Commission members proposed minor marijuana offenders "receive a citation rather than being arrested." Ironically, Kavanau, then administrator of the Administrative Office of the Courts, wrote one of the chapters in the 1999-2000 Rose Commission report. "I am sure the Rose Commission's intent was as honest and true as the Nevada Judges Association's intent," Kavanau said. "I think judges believe more good can be done if they change the law back to a misdemeanor." However, minor use remains a misdemeanor under the current law. Stan Olsen, the legislative lobbyist for Las Vegas police, said his agency has not taken a position on the association's bill. He also said judges have the power to order marijuana users into drug treatment programs. "I don't know if jail on a misdemeanor offense serves any real purpose," Olsen added. Giunchigliani said she has not heard any police objections to her law. Until the law went into effect Oct. 1, 2001, Nevada was the only state in the nation that made possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a felony. Now, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws lists Nevada among the 12 states that have decriminalized marijuana. By decriminalization, NORML means first-time offenders receive no prison or jail time, and the offense is treated like a minor traffic citation. Giunchigliani said she hopes the Nevada Judges Association bill will not receive a hearing before a legislative committee. "Why change what has worked well?" she asked.Note: Measure gives Nevada judges option to send first-time offenders to jail; assemblywoman says change unnecessary.Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)Author: Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital BureauPublished: Saturday, February 01, 2003Copyright: 2003 Las Vegas Review-JournalContact: letters lvrj.comWebsite: http://www.lvrj.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Lawmakers OK Marijuana Bill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9973.shtmlMedical Marijuana, Defelonization Approved http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9966.shtmlLawmakers: Nevadans Want Marijuana Bill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9956.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by Truth on February 01, 2003 at 11:47:18 PT
"Spin"ster
She wants to force folks into rehab so she can say marijuana use puts more and more people into rehab. The truth is: marijuana doesn't put people into rehab, marijuana prohibition does. She's a "spin"ster.
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