cannabisnews.com: Federal Drug Czar Won't Face Prosecution in State





Federal Drug Czar Won't Face Prosecution in State
Posted by CN Staff on April 24, 2003 at 09:23:14 PT
By Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital Bureau
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Carson City -- National Drug Czar John Walters will not be prosecuted for violating state election laws, the secretary of state's office announced Wednesday. Chief Deputy Secretary of State Renee Parker said it would be futile to try to prosecute Walters for failing to turn in legally required campaign contributions and expenditure reports. She said an attorney general's opinion found he was acting within the framework of his position last year when he campaigned against legalizing marijuana in Nevada. 
"There is nothing we can do," Parker said. "Our own attorneys are telling us we will lose." Jonathan Andrews, a special assistant state attorney general, decided that Walters did not have to file the campaign reports required of all candidates and groups that advocate for ballot questions because of an 1890 U.S. Supreme Court decision. That decision held federal officials are immune from state action when exercising the functions of their offices, according to Andrews. The Marijuana Policy Project filed a complaint about Walters with Secretary of State Dean Heller earlier this year. The group charged that Walters, like any other person, should have submitted three reports detailing his contributions and expenditures last fall in the Question 9 campaign. Those who fail to turn in reports can be fined $5,000 for each omission. Walters visited Nevada three times to speak out against Question 9, the ballot question that would have allowed adults to possess as much as three ounces of marijuana in their homes. The question failed by a 61 percent to 39 percent vote in the November election. His Office of National Drug Control Policy also ran many television commercials warning residents of the dangers of marijuana use. The Marijuana Policy Project was the parent organization of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the group that campaigned for legal marijuana. It spent $1.8 million on the unsuccessful campaign to pass Question 9. Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the project, said his organization followed the law and Walters should have been expected to do the same thing, especially since Walters' money comes from taxpayers. Rafael Lemaitre, a press secretary to Walters, hailed the ruling as good common sense. "Director Walters was simply doing his job, to educate people about the dangers of illegal drugs," he said. Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, said he was disappointed by Andrews' opinion, in part because the special attorney general questioned Walters' campaigning in Nevada. In the opinion, Andrews said it was "unfortunate that representatives of the federal government intervened in a matter that was clearly a State of Nevada issue. The excessive federal intervention that was exhibited in this instance is particularly disturbing because it sought to influence the outcome of a Nevada election." Fox contended that requiring Walters to turn in campaign reports is no different than requiring a U.S. Postal Service employee to follow state traffic laws. "He is just thumbing his noise at the state," Fox said. Fox added more recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions require federal officials to follow state laws as long as they do not interfere with their duties. He cited a 1971 ruling that federal officials should follow state laws unless they thwart their ability to carry out federal policies. "This fight is far from over," he said. Because Nevada law is clear, the Marijuana Policy Project may go to court to force Walters' to file the reports, Fox added.Note: AG finds anti-marijuana campaign allowable in Nevada.Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)Author: Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital BureauPublished: Thursday, April 24, 2003Copyright: 2003 Las Vegas Review-JournalContact: letters lvrj.comWebsite: http://www.lvrj.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Drug Czar Spurns Complaint from Marijuana Grouphttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15318.shtmlDrug Czar Not Bound by Nevada Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15313.shtmlDrug Czar Won't Respond To Complainthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15307.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by Lehder on April 24, 2003 at 13:56:34 PT
"There is nothing we can do" 
"Our own attorneys are telling us we will lose." So prosecute him anyway. Convict him and hold him in jail while he goes through the appeals process to the Supreme Court. He's a dangerous guy, and that's how the Feds do things too.Nothing we can do? Well, we could, but Americans won't. What are they doing here in my area today? They are riding round and round on their mowers. They begin on the perimeter of the grass and ride round and round in progressively smaller circles until they arrive at the center. They tell me that he sight of a freshly mown lawn is most satisfying. They don't think to protest the jailing, incommunicado and without charge and without benefit of counsel, of Mike Hawash. He's an employee of Intel in Oregon. He was dragged out of bed in his own home in front of his three kids. He's a U.S. citizen who has resided here for 14 years.Americans would not think of beginning their circles at the center and riding round and round til they've mowed to the edges. That would be unorthodox, different from their nieghbors' way.Soon the Patriot Act #2 will criminalize all forms of protest. Then those millions of people in the streets can be mowed down too. No one will complain.The killing is about to begin. Deny it, when it comes, and refuse to believe it. It can't happen here.
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on April 24, 2003 at 11:41:34 PT:
Limits of Federal Powers?
Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, ...; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; ...; To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes; -Article I [The Legislative Branch]..Section 8. [Scope of Legislative Power]: The Constitution of the United States of America http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.table.html Among states, not within them. With Indian tribes, not within them. Our Founding Fathers wisely installed checks and balances to prevent a police state AKA government by monarchy (drug czar anyone?). Of the people is one leg of democracy (American ingenuity); by the people (Compassionate Use Act of California) is one leg; for the people is one leg (human rights); together WE THE PEOPLE stand.ego transcendence follows ego destruction, and suddenly there is no question.
The Constitution of the United States of America 
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Comment #1 posted by freedom fighter on April 24, 2003 at 11:22:11 PT
Go ahead and file the charge anyway!
There's a double standard going on! Why is it that Dennis Peron got charged based on evidence that prosecutors fully knew well that there was no warrant? Why Dennis but not Johnny? Oh, I forgot, Johnny thinks he is a god and his best buddies are the "terrorists".All the more why it is a good reason not to file charge on this monster. Can be very dangerous thing to do so!But, hey, someone gotta stop this monster from turning our children into soliders... That quote from this witchhunter, "It is as if they are wearing a suit of armor." is so sick and replusive! http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16010.shtml Spit!pazff
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