cannabisnews.com: Legislators Avoid Pot Decision





Legislators Avoid Pot Decision
Posted by CN Staff on March 11, 2005 at 09:07:28 PT
By Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital Bureau
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Carson City -- The Assembly Judiciary Committee decided to take no action Thursday on whether to legalize an ounce or less of marijuana. That means Nevadans will get a chance to vote on the measure in the November 2006 election. Rod Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, predicted Nevadans will narrowly support the proposal. "We don't expect a landslide victory," Kampia said.
But Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, declared in no uncertain terms that he would do everything in his power to stop the legalization of marijuana in Nevada. As deputy chief of the Henderson Police Department, Perkins said he has arrested people who committed crimes because they were "spurred on by substance abuse and mostly by marijuana." "Does this committee, this Legislature want to send a message to our youth that using a drug is a good thing?" Perkins asked. He and other law enforcement officers, including Clark County Sheriff Bill Young and District Attorney David Roger, said legalizing marijuana only would lead to increased drug abuse and more crime. Young called the proposal "totally irresponsible," adding Nevada would become the laughingstock of the nation if marijuana became legal. "We do not need dope smokers walking the streets of Clark County or any city in Nevada with impunity," Roger added. Young noted possession of an ounce marijuana in Nevada is a misdemeanor crime, punishable by a $600 fine. He said the Las Vegas police policy is to issue suspects a ticket for possession of small amounts of pot. "We are not filling up our jails with them," he added. By a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent, Nevada voters rejected another Marijuana Policy Project initiative in 2002 that would have legalized up to three ounces of pot for adults. The latest marijuana legalization petition, circulated among citizens last fall, calls for legalizing one ounce and for doubling the penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana or alcohol and for selling marijuana to children. Under the state constitution, the Legislature had to adopt the petition unchanged within the first 40 days of the session or it automatically would be placed on the ballot as a question for voters to decide. During his testimony, Kampia said more teenagers in America now use marijuana than smoke cigarettes. With marijuana illegal, otherwise law-abiding citizens have to come into contact with criminal elements to purchase drugs, he said. With legalization, they would buy marijuana from state-approved stores, ending their ties with the drug culture. "I didn't hear a solution," added Kampia about the police testimony. "If you have tried a war (on drugs) for 35 years and drug use has gone up, it is time for a new approach." Mitch Earleywine, a professor at the University of Southern California, disputed arguments by police that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to use of harder drugs. He also challenged the contention that people using marijuana become aggressive and commit crimes. He said the gateway drug tends to be the one most prevalent in one's community and often that is crack cocaine. Other drugs, such as methamphetamines and cocaine, may cause aggression in users, but not marijuana, he added. Jack Cole, a former New Jersey police detective, said he put 1,000 people in jail during a long career as a narcotics officer. "I can't say how many of them would have led fine productive lives if they had not been convicted, but many would have," Cole said. "Think of how many people you know personally who used illegal drugs and then put them aside? George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Newt Gingrich. They all used illegal drugs when they were young, but they weren't caught and they quit using them. "You can get over an addiction, but you can't get over a conviction," added Cole, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition -- http://www.leap.cc/Note: Police, some lawmakers decry initiative; vote goes to people.Complete Title: Marijuana Legislation: Legislators Avoid Pot DecisionNewshawk: TruthSource: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)Author: Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital BureauPublished: Friday, March 11, 2005Copyright: 2005 Las Vegas Review-JournalContact: letters lvrj.comWebsite: http://www.lvrj.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Nevada Marijuana Petition Goes To Ballothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20344.shtmlRuling Revives Chances To Legalize Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20177.shtmlJudge Gives New Life To Nevada MJ Petition http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20175.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by dongenero on March 11, 2005 at 12:39:25 PT
Richard Perkins-Assembly Speaker
and former Deputy Chief of Police until determined to be in violation of the Hatch Act. Some other stuff too.http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/2001/departments/2001_05_24/upfront_smack.htmlAlso had trouble, in the midst of his double dipping as Assembly Speaker and suburban Deputy Police Chief, as he tried to allocate 3 million dollars to the Topazia Jones School of Truckdriving Technology.These two are just a couple of crooks passing judgement.
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Comment #4 posted by dongenero on March 11, 2005 at 12:05:02 PT
dirt on the DA
Oooo here's some dirt on our boy David Rogers, CCDA.
Hmmm google shows allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
plus this link below, tying him to funding from the criminal element in Vegas.....maybe I shouldn't say anymore.Oh, he's worried about "dope smokers".http://twistedbadge.com/nevada_12.htm
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Comment #3 posted by dongenero on March 11, 2005 at 11:51:49 PT
dope smokers?
I bet District Attorney David Roger is a boozer, a drunk, a wino, a boozehound, a guzzler, a lush, an inebriate, a sot, a drunkard, a lush, a swiller, a rummy, a dipsomaniac.Or, maybe just a wine connoisseur.Take that.
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Comment #2 posted by Max Flowers on March 11, 2005 at 09:35:06 PT
Newsflash, D.A. Roger
Hey you shameless bigot, there are already "dope smokers" walking the streets of not only your precious state but of this whole nation every day, and they're fine people---they're your grocers, librarians, pharmacists, auto mechanics, etc etc.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 11, 2005 at 09:14:30 PT
Related Article from Snipped Source
Panel Wants Voters To Decide on Pot Proposalhttp://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2005/03/10/94292.php
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