Pubdate: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV) Copyright: 2006 Las Vegas Sun, Inc Contact: http://www.lasvegassun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Question+7 BUSH OFFICIALS, PROPONENT SQUARE OFF AGAINST QUESTION 7 IN DAYTON The Nevada ballot initiative to legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana is being orchestrated by interests in Washington D.C., according to a Bush Administration official. But a backer of Question 7 pointed to the clear Capitol connections of Scott Burns, who's deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy for State and Local Affairs. "The reason this is on the ballot is because 86,000 Nevadans signed petitions to put it on the ballot," Patrick Killen of Las Vegas said. Burns claimed that the power behind the initiative was using Nevada as a guinea pig to see if it can legalize all drugs. He spoke at a panel discussion Monday at the Dayton Community Center on Question 7 sponsored by Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties, which opposes the measure. Killen and about 10 others protested outside the center. Burns said the initiative is funded 98 percent from Washington, D.C. He named John Sperling, founder of the University of Phoenix; Peter Lewis of Progressive Insurance Co., and billionaire investor George Soros as the money men behind the ballot measure. Killen said Washington needs to fix its own problems before telling Nevadans how to vote on a local issue. "We support Question 7 because we believe that Nevada marijuana laws have failed and it's time for a sensible alternative.," he said. "Question 7 would tax and regulate marijuana in Nevada, taking it away from violent gangs and drug dealers." But Burns and fellow panel members Las Vegas police officer Todd Raybuck and John Shields, head of the New Frontier Treatment Center in Fallon, said passage would make drug use more acceptable and encourage use among children. "When I was in high school and college, it was a 'rite of passage' drug," Burns said. "Now it's a rite of passage drug for 10- to 12-year-olds." Burns said that the drug use among youth is decreasing, and passage of Question 7 would make it seem like a normal thing to do. Raybuck, a 14-year veteran of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said today's marijuana is 50 percent to 70 percent more potent than it was in the 1960s and '70s and has a chilling effect on youth. "The more powerful pot rewires the adolescent brain similar to heroin or cocaine," he said. Raybuck told a story of two brothers. One brother, who never used drugs, stayed in school, had a career, family and a nice home. The other brother started smoking marijuana and kept smoking for 30 years. He went on to use methamphetamine and cocaine. "He never held a job more than six months," Raybuck said. "He has two sons he never sees." Raybuck said the brother is now doing a long stretch in prison for crimes he committed while on drugs. "I can tell you about this brother, because he's my brother," Raybuck said. Both Burns and Raybuck stated that even if Question 7 passes, federal law, which supersedes state law, still outlaws possession and use of marijuana. But several of some two dozen people who attended the panel discussion defended the initiative, though they did not give their names. One woman stated that she lived in constant pain and would rather use marijuana than Vicodin or other prescribed drugs that leave her "like a zombie." Another man criticized the amount of financial resources used in fighting drugs. "I don't want kids smoking dope, drinking beer, or smoking cigarettes, but the war on drugs has been a failure," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman