Pubdate: Mon, 31 Jan 2005
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2005 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Contact:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234
Authors: David Kihara and Cy Ryan
Cited: The Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana (CRCM) 
http://www.regulatemarijuana.org/
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org
Cited: American Civil Liberties Union http://www.aclu.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/states/NV/ (Nevada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/marijuana+initiative
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

STATE CONSIDERS APPEAL OF RULING ON PETITIONS

The state attorney general may file an appeal to overturn the recent
federal court ruling that allows the backers of a marijuana petition
to present their initiative to the 2005 Legislature, the lead attorney
said Friday.

Joshua Hicks, senior deputy attorney general, said that the state will
review the order and decide this week if they can go forward with an
appeal.

"We are obviously disappointed that the judge chose to deny the
motion," Hicks said. "We still need to decide what we are going to do
with it."

Tom Sargent, spokesman for Attorney General Brian Sandoval, said on
Friday that the attorney general's office had not yet seen the
decision and couldn't comment on what their next step would be.

U.S. District Judge James Mahan on Friday ruled in favor of the
Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, the American Civil
Liberties Union and the Marijuana Project, paving the way for the
committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana to present their petition
to the 2005 Legislature.

The Legislature convenes on Feb. 7.

After the federal court ruling on the marijuana petition, Secretary of
State Dean Heller said Friday he would forward all three initiative
petitions to the Legislature when it opens Feb. 7.

He said he would follow the court ruling and not appeal any
more.

The Legislature then has 40 days to approve the petitions, and if it
doesn't, they go on the 2006 election ballot.

"We are heartened by the judge's decision," said Gary Peck, executive
director of the ACLU Nevada.

In granting the preliminary injunction, Mahan reversed a previous
decision by the secretary of state, based on an attorney general's
opinion, that disqualified the marijuana petition on the grounds that
the petition gatherers essentially did not have enough signatures to
push their petition forward.

The petition asks, among other things, that adults can possess an
ounce or less of marijuana.

The petition backers gathered 69,261 signatures for their petition --
at least 18,000 more signatures than the 51,337 that was believed to
be needed. That calculation was based on 10 percent of the registered
voters in 2002.

However, on Dec. 20, the secretary of state, relying on the attorney
general's opinion, ruled that the Committee to Regulate and Control
Marijuana, and two petitions limiting smoking in some public areas,
did not have enough signatures because they needed 10 percent of the
registered voters for the 2004 election -- or 83,156 signatures.

Mahan, however, reversed that opinion, calling it "unconstitutional."

"The attorney general's opinions are not law," Mahan said when rending
his decision.

"It's a change of rules in midstream" and could lead to "chaos" in the
future, he said.

The state was joined in the case by Joe Cain, an attorney with
McMullen & Cain, who was representing the Nevada Association of
Sheriffs and Chiefs Association.

Cain said he had not conferred with the Nevada Association of Sheriffs
and Chiefs Association on Friday about whether or not he would go
forward with an appeal.

"We could consider it, but we need to look at what our options are,"
Cain said.

A group of health organizations -- including the American Cancer
society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung
Association -- have filed a suit before District Judge Bill Maddox of
Carson City asking that the judge overrule Heller, who decided that
the two health-related petitions do not have enough signatures.

The issue is similar to the one facing the marijuana
petition.

One smoking ban petition backed by the health coalition gathered
64,871 signatures, while the petition backed by casinos and bars
collected 74,348 signatures.

Bob Crowell, spokesman for the Nevada Cancer Society, said its suit
filed in District Court would be dismissed since the federal ruling
permits its smoking petition to go forward to the legislature.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake