Pubdate: Thu, 30 Jun 2016 Source: Reno News & Review (NV) Copyright: 2016, Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact: http://www.newsreview.com/issues/reno/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2524 Author: Jim Hartman ECONOMIC BOOST COMING Nevada voters should brace for millions of dollars from out-of-state "Big Marijuana" interests supporting legalization of recreational pot on the November ballot. These corporate pot promoters will try to repeat what worked for them in legalizing marijuana in Colorado in 2012. There, they financially overwhelmed opponents by five to one, spending $3.4 million (90 percent from outside Colorado) in passing legalization. The enormous financial advantage for pro-pot advertising in Colorado overcame opposition to legalization from most all public officials-across the political spectrum from liberal Democrats, like Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, to Republicans, like Attorney General John Suthers and U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, a Tea Party favorite. The two leading newspapers in Colorado, the Denver Post and Colorado Springs Gazette, opposed legalization, as did the Colorado Education Association and the Greater Denver Chamber of Commerce. Big Marijuana will repeat its Colorado advertising falsehoods in Nevada-that "regulation" of marijuana means the end of black markets and that marijuana taxes will be used for education. The Colorado Attorney General and the Governor's "Weed Czar" refute both claims as myths. Jim Hartman Genoa - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom