March 10, 2005

Nevada marijuana petition goes to ballot
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - If Nevada voters want to legalize marijuana, they're going to have to do it themselves.

An Assembly panel declined to vote Thursday on an initiative petition that would have legalized possession of one ounce of marijuana, and the non-vote automatically puts the issue on the November 2006 ballot.

In 2002, Nevada voters rejected a petition to legalize up to three ounces of marijuana by a 61-39 margin. The latest proposal would put the legal limit an adult could possess at one ounce.

The drug could be sold by state-licensed sellers, located no closer than 500 feet from churches and schools. The petition also levies heavy taxes on drug users, and double penalties for driving under the influence of any substance.

"It's time for new approach," said Rob Kampia, head of the Washington D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project. "If you don't like (drug dealers), put them out of business. We don't have people peddling alcohol on street corners."

Kampia's group has been involved in legalization efforts in Maine, Vermont, Colorado, Washington and Alaska, where a similar petition was rejected by voters in November.

Supporters of the petition faced a wall of opposition in the Nevada Assembly, which is led by a police officer and candidate for governor who was quick to declare the petition dead on arrival.

"Marijuana will not be legalized on my watch," Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said in testimony before the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Perkins labeled marijuana "a gateway drug" and said its legalization would "absolutely without question" lead to increased drug use.

In 2000, Nevada became one of 10 states to legalize marijuana for medical use. Perkins said he supported that initiative and said his son, a cancer survivor, has used cannabis-based medication in his recovery.

Backers of the petition argued that it would ease overcrowding in prisons, take away the drug's "forbidden fruit" appeal and generate money for the state. They said they'd learned from the mistakes that led to the 2002 defeat of the 3-ounce proposal in Nevada.

"When we did focus groups and polling asking a series of questions about how the public wants to handle marijuana, people wanted to get really serious about dangerous drivers and they wanted to get really serious about selling pot to kids," Kampia said.

The initiative would make it illegal for anyone 18 years old or older to sell to minors. More than 69,000 Nevadans signed the petition.

Starting with Perkins, a series of law enforcement officials lined up against the bill. They took issue with the notion that enforcement of marijuana laws was diverting officers' attention from more serious, violent crime, and that marijuana offenders were clogging up jails and prisons. People caught with small amounts of marijuana are most often ticketed, not arrested, they said.

The law enforcement representatives also characterized the initiative as bad policy backed by outsiders.

"I've been a prosecutors for 18 years," said Clark County District Attorney David Roger. "I can tell you unequivocally we do not need dope smokers walking the streets of Clark County or anywhere else in the state with impunity. It is somewhat offensive to me, as a citizen of this state, to hear from people who do not even reside in the state ... to come in here and tell us how to enforce our laws."

The initiative found no support on the Judiciary Committee.

Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, said he was skeptical of evidence showing a link between marijuana and harder drugs, but he was concerned that if the initiative passed it would conflict with federal statutes.

"Send it to people," Horne said. "Ultimately, they're going to be the ones who have to deal with the issue that was never addressed, the federal enforcement issue."



So you will be able to buy an OZ in the store, but it will have some sort of tax stamp on it?  If you drive after smoking out you get twice the punishment a current Drunk driver gets?  While you be prosecuted for tax evasion if you are in possession of untaxed weed?  Marijuana enthusiasts might want to be carefull what they wish for on this one...Sin tax, enhanced punishments, state regulation....doesnt sound very libertarian to me.

why shouldn't it be legal?

Quoted: why shouldn't it be legal?

It should be.  But does the above sound like legalization to you?  Taxed & regulated is not legal, its only decriminalized.  Legal is the absence of regulation.

The initiative would make it illegal for anyone 18 years old or older to sell to minors

It's already illegal for anyone 18 years old or older to sell to minors, duh!  What a "get tough!" law

Quoted: Quoted: why shouldn't it be legal? It should be.  But does the above sound like legalization to you?  Taxed & regulated is not legal, its only decriminalized.  Legal is the absence of regulation.

you're right

Quoted: The drug could be sold by state-licensed sellers, located no closer than 500 feet from churches and schools. The petition also levies heavy taxes on drug users, and double penalties for driving under the influence of any substance.

Seems okay to me, except that "DUI" should be, imo, higher.

I hate people who drive under the influence.

Is there any technology available to determine whether a person is under the influence of marijuana? My friends who smoke prodigious amounts of marijuana seem to function 100% fine for the most part. But for every functioning marijuana user, there are 5 that are in jail becasue they fucked up. I really would like to see this pass.

Quoted: Is there any technology available to determine whether a person is under the influence of marijuana? My friends who smoke prodigious amounts of marijuana seem to function 100% fine for the most part. But for every functioning marijuana user, there are 5 that are in jail becasue they fucked up. I really would like to see this pass.

A lot of people can function at 0.08% BAC too, a decade ago it was common for the DUI threshold to be 0.10%, yet 0.08% BAC means automatic DUI.    You don't hear pro-dopers bitching about that.

Quoted: Is there any technology available to determine whether a person is under the influence of marijuana? .

No.  Only objective symptoms of intoxication like droopy eyelids, bloodshot eyes, non convergence, dialted pupils, elevated heart rate, ect.

I hope those folks love getting busted by the DEA.

Fed law still governs drug possession.

CRC

Quoted: I hope those folks love getting busted by the DEA. Fed law still governs drug possession. CRC

Feds are too busy to worry about simple possession of an ounce or less.

Quoted: Quoted: why shouldn't it be legal? It should be.  But does the above sound like legalization to you?  Taxed & regulated is not legal, its only decriminalized.  Legal is the absence of regulation.

you can say the same about tobacco and alcohol. I think this is good we have speant too much money and ruined too many peoples lives because we did not learn the lesson from prohibition.

Quoted: Quoted: Is there any technology available to determine whether a person is under the influence of marijuana? . No.  Only objective symptoms of intoxication like droopy eyelids, bloodshot eyes, non convergence, dialted pupils, elevated heart rate, ect.

Which are also good indicators of having multiple pre-K children at home.

ETA: I'm not worried about the taxes and registration. Look at booze. The enforcement changed from armed agents in shootouts to accountants and courts. We're not paying foreign countries billions of dollars to curtail their distilling operations. Nobody is getting killed and its not clogging up the prisons.

Did you know that every bottle of booze used to have a tax stamp on it? In IL at least. I was working a demo side job and found some alcoholic doctor's stash of empty whiskey bottles. Hundreds of them under the floorboards. All had tax stamps.

Perkins labeled marijuana "a gateway drug" and said its legalization would "absolutely without question" lead to increased drug use.

I call Bullsh*t!

Tobacco and Alcohol are the real gateway drugs.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: why shouldn't it be legal? It should be.  But does the above sound like legalization to you?  Taxed & regulated is not legal, its only decriminalized.  Legal is the absence of regulation. you can say the same about tobacco and alcohol.

And I have.  In fact the penalties for alcohol related crimes in my state are significantly more severe than marijuana crimes.  marijuana enthusiasts should be very careful in my state when suggesting they treat marijuana like tobacco or cigarettes.  

Quoted: Perkins labeled marijuana "a gateway drug" and said its legalization would "absolutely without question" lead to increased drug use. I call Bullsh*t! Tobacco and Alcohol are the real gateway drugs.

Alcohoo and marijuana are "gateway" drugs in the exact same manner.  Decreased inhibitions resulting in increased at risk beavior.