Pubdate: Mon, 19 Aug 2002
Source: Reno Gazette-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2002 Reno Gazette-Journal
Contact:  http://www.rgj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/363
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?163 (Question 9 (NV))

VOTE MAY AFFECT NATIONAL POLICY

When Nevadans go to the polls on Nov. 5, they will find themselves on the 
national stage - right in the middle of the long-running battle over marijuana.

Two years after they gave final approval to a measure that allows the use 
of marijuana for medical purposes (though a workable system for 
accomplishing that goal has yet to be developed), Nevadans this year are 
being asked to go a step further by decriminalizing the possession of less 
than 3 ounces of the drug altogether (selling it or providing it to 
children would still be illegal).

The appearance of Question 9 on the November ballot (it will have to be 
approved by voters twice to become law) clearly has gotten the attention of 
national groups, both pro and anti, including the Bush administration. Last 
month, Drug Enforcement Agency Director Asa Hutchinson and John P. Walters, 
head of the government's Office of Drug Control Policy (the "drug czar"), 
warned Nevadans to vote against the measure. In Las Vegas for a D.A.R.E. 
convention, Walters said that the state would become a center of "drug 
tourism" if it decriminalized marijuana. It would exacerbate the nation's 
drug problem, he said, and he called the nationwide campaign "a great con."

Washoe County District Attorney Dick Gammick also warned against approving 
Question 9, and a statewide police organization quickly retracted support 
of the measure that had been announced by its executive director (he was 
fired).

Pro-marijuana forces quickly came to the defense of the initiative. The 
Gazette-Journal received letters from as far away as Hawaii to the west and 
Massachusetts to the east touting the advantages of decriminalizing the 
drug and denying the danger that the anti- marijuana forces most often cite 
- - that it's a "gateway" drug that leads to the abuse of much more dangerous 
drugs.

What makes this particularly difficult for Nevadans is that they are, in 
effect, being asked to make national policy. Supporters hope that the 
states will fall like dominoes once Nevada takes action until eventually 
the federal government is forced by a rebellion of the states to change its 
own marijuana policy. That puts a lot of pressure on Nevada voters that, 
with the state's relatively small population, they are not used to.

Yet, with 2 1/2 months to go before the election, Nevadans appear to be 
split on the merits of decriminalizing marijuana. A statewide Gazette- 
Journal/News 4 poll found that 48 percent favor the measure and 48 percent 
are opposed to it; 4 percent were undecided, a small percentage this far 
before a vote.

To reach a consensus, however, they will have to peal away decades of 
mythology and fear-mongering. What are the real dangers of smoking 
marijuana? How does it fit into the overall drug problem? How many inmates 
are really in our jails simply because they smoked a joint or two? How much 
of the nation's law-enforcement resources are really being used to battle 
marijuana use?

And they will have to look beyond their own prejudices to decide what 
policy is really best for the state - and the nation. It's not a 
comfortable position for the state to be in, but the chances are good that 
the whole nation will be watching.
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MAP posted-by: Tom