FEDERAL DRUG CZAR WON'T FACE PROSECUTION IN STATE

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.


Pubdate: Thu, 24 Apr 2003
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2003 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: letters@lvrj.com
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/