NEVADANS WEIGH PROPOSAL

LAS VEGAS, July 30 - After voting two years ago to ease state drug laws,
Nevada voters could go even further this year, making their state the first
to legalize marijuana and derive taxes from a regulated sales system.

It is a stunning possibility in a state where possession of more than one
ounce of marijuana is still a felony, punishable by up to four years in
prison, and possession of less than an ounce remains a misdemeanor that
carries a $650 fine.

Yet the November ballot initiative follows two major changes in 2000 that
seemed to reflect shifting sentiments in Nevada toward marijuana. Voters
approved a measure to allow the use of marijuana for medical reasons. As
part of the language to codify the measure, lawmakers reduced penalties for
possessing less than an ounce of marijuana.

The combination made Nevada one of the nine states that have allowed legal
access to the drug for patients with a doctor's prescription and one of the
12 that have eased penalties for some offenses.

But the new initiative would catapult Nevada to the forefront of all states
reconsidering their approach to drug laws.

It would eliminate penalties for possessing up to three ounces of marijuana
for any reason and would direct the Legislature to treat marijuana much
like tobacco products and alcohol, regulating it through a system that
would oversee how it is grown, distributed and sold, generating tax revenue
in the process.

"This is a landmark initiative that seeks more than what any state has
accomplished so far," said R. Keith Stroup, executive director of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a nonprofit group
working to reduce state and federal penalties for marijuana use.

Mr. Stroup cautioned, however, that the Nevada effort might be too
ambitious to succeed. While states have reduced penalties for some
marijuana offenses without interference from the federal government, he
said any measure that put a state in the drug business would violate
federal law and draw a challenge from the Justice Department.

In general, when state law conflicts with federal law, the federal law
takes precedence, giving federal prosecutors the discretion to pursue a
case or not. A state-regulated drug operation, Mr. Stroup said, would be
too much for the federal government to ignore.

"It is highly unlikely the federal government would allow a state to create
a legal market for the sale of drugs in which the state licenses the sale
or sets up stores to sell it," he said. "But what it would do is place
enormous pressure on Congress to take a rational look at the nation's drug
laws.

"As we begin to get more and more states considering legalization, it will
be impossible for Congress to stand in their way."

Last week, the House of Representatives took a step in that direction when
a bipartisan bill was introduced to allow all states to approve medical
marijuana, thus eliminating any conflict with federal law. Passage of the
measure is considered a long shot, but the 36 sponsors reflect a wide
political range, from Representative Barney Frank, a liberal Democrat from
Massachusetts, to Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative
Republican from California.

Besides Nevada, eight other states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and Washington - have passed exemptions since 1996 to
allow patients with a doctor's prescription to use marijuana to relieve
pain and discomfort.

Arizona has initiatives on the November ballot to reduce possession
penalities. Other jurisdictions also have fall ballot measures, including
the District of Columbia, with a medical marijuana proposal, and the City
of San Francisco, with a plan for the city to grow and distribute the drug
for patients living there. Ohio and Michigan have initiatives that would
provide treatment instead of imprisonment for some drug users.

But nothing appears to be as far-reaching as Nevada's effort, which can
only become law through a state constitutional amendment by voters this
year and in 2004. The medical marijuana measure here passed with 59 percent
of the vote in 1998 and with 65 percent in 2000.

Organizers of the campaign that put the current initiative on the November
ballot, Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, are selling it strictly
as a law enforcement issue. As Billy Rogers, campaign manager for the
effort, said, "Most Nevadans think it is a waste of taxpayers' money to
arrest people for small amounts of marijuana when the time could be better
spent arresting murderers and rapists."

Whether or not that means "most" Nevada voters would favor the new measure,
it has generated an unusually high level of support for such a
controversial issue. A recent poll by The Las Vegas Review-Journal, the
state's largest newspaper, found that 44 percent of voters favored the
initiative, 46 percent opposed it and 10 percent were undecided. The survey
had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

In addition, The Review-Journal endorsed the idea in a July 7 editorial,
calling it "a promising first step" toward ending "the needless harassment
of individuals who peacefully and privately use marijuana."

Perhaps mindful of the poll results, none of Nevada's leading political
figures, including Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican seeking re-election this
fall, has openly opposed the idea.

So far, the most outspoken critics have been two recent visitors from
Washington - Asa Hutchinson, chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration,
and John Walters, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Mr.
Walters warned that passage could make Nevada "a vacation spot for drug
traffickers," but said, "I don't believe you'd see federal officials coming
in to enforce possession laws."

The proposal includes what organizers describe as safeguards, like
prohibitions against advertising, selling marijuana to anyone under 21, or
selling it in any public place like schools and parks.

"This allows law enforcement to go after people who truly act
irresponsibly," he said. "People who smoke marijuana are otherwise
law-abiding citizens who shouldn't be arrested. They are not endangering
society."

Pubdate: Fri, 02 Aug 2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Michael Janofsky
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?162 (Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement)