CARSON CITY -- It appears that legislators will turn a cold shoulder to three initiative petitions that would regulate smoking and marijuana. If they do, the measures will automatically go to the ballot in 2006 for voters to decide. Advocates of the two smoking petitions presented their case in front of the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. But after two hours of testimony, chairman Bernie Anderson, D-Reno, said he'd rather leave the smoking issues up to the public. "The only vote that we have is a yes vote," he said. "If we were to move either one of these that would take it out of the prerogative of the public to take up this issue." [continues 692 words]
CARSON CTIY, Nev. (AP) - A Nevada Assembly panel decided not to vote Wednesday on two dueling initiative petitions - one more lenient than the other - that would tighten rules on smoking in public areas. The Assembly Judiciary inaction means both initiative petitions will now go to the voters in 2006. If both pass, the one with a higher number of "yes" votes will become law. While sponsors of both initiatives say they want to protect Nevadans, particularly children, from second-hand smoke, legislators noted one proposal, Initiative Proposal 1, goes a lot farther than the other, Initiative Proposal 2. [continues 722 words]
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. [continues 558 words]
Specialists Weigh In On Las Vegas' Conflicting Messages About Drug And Alcohol Abuse Las Vegas may well be the mixed-message capital of the United States. On one hand, the city sells itself as a 24-hour whirligig of booze and gambling. On the other, measures -- such as relatively tough drug and D.U.I. laws -- do show the city's overseers are at least somewhat concerned about public safety. But addiction specialists Philip Diaz and Dr. Patricia O'Gorman aren't sure Las Vegas, or the United States as a whole, is doing enough to prevent and treat drug and alcohol addiction. [continues 660 words]
As Reno police officers in the new downtown Motel Interdiction Team searched a motel room for narcotics recently they couldn't help but notice a 12-year-old girl. While she sat on a bed trying to do her homework her mother was in the corner, strung out on crack cocaine. The family was living in a meager single-bed room littered with drug paraphernalia. The girl said her school grades had gone from As to Fs because the steady stream of people filing through the room kept her awake, said Sgt. Greg Bellew, who supervises the new unit, initiated last month. [continues 537 words]
According to The New York Times, our president and his spinmeisters have not denied his smoking of marijuana. At least this "no comment" is less foolish than his predecessor's "didn't inhale" statement. Incredibly, President Bush continues to throw good money after bad to fund the absurd and unwinnable "war against drugs." Perhaps instead of trying to take back Nevada's share of Bureau of Land Management monies, a few billion dollars could be taken away from the budget of the Drug Enforcement Administration and applied to our laughingstock of a national debt. Robert Bankert [end]
Hopefully the 9th Circuit Court will bring some justice to this tragedy. Jessica Williams received 48 years in a cage to provide vengeance for the families of the victims. To further the judge in his rise to the state Supreme Court, to help the D.A. move to a judgeship. It is interesting to note the prosecutor has resigned his position and now is in private practice. He represents those accused of DUI now. But most of all this was about protecting all the others who helped cause this tragedy. Jessica foolishly allowed herself to become so fatigued she was involved in a horrible crash. She was not a criminal, just a foolish teenager. [continues 277 words]
With allegations of fraud in the 2004 election still unsatisfactorily unexplained, Nevada's attorney general was attempting a preemptive strike on the 2006 elections until recently being shot down by a federal judge. Several groups are working diligently to reform the harshness of drug laws in this country, though their difference of opinion with elected representatives makes justice a rather rare commodity. One group, the Marijuana Policy Project, has been sponsoring state initiatives reducing penalties for marijuana possession for several years now, and they are quite successful at it. [continues 460 words]
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada lawmakers convened their 2005 session Monday, with leaders quickly outlining possible solutions to major issues such as spiraling property tax bills and struggling public schools. Legislators also promised to work together and prevent a repeat of 2003 when two special sessions were needed to pass a record $833 million tax package that was held up during the regular session by Assembly Republicans who wanted a lower tax hit. Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, opened the Assembly by calling for "a session of action" to deal with numerous issues - plus a nearly $6 billion state spending plan proposed by Gov. Kenny Guinn. [continues 404 words]
CARSON CITY -- Secretary of State Dean Heller says he needs $15 million from the state to buy 4,400 new voting machines for Clark County in time for the 2006 election. Heller told the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday he learned in the last two weeks that the present voting machines could not be retrofitted to allow them to have voter verifiable paper trail printers. Heller and his chief deputy, Renee Parker, said Sequoia Voter Systems Inc., was hired to do the retrofit. But it discovered it would cost more to retrofit the machines in Clark County than buying new machines. [continues 511 words]
Speaker Opens Assembly With Rebuke and Apology Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins opened the 73rd Legislature on Monday with a rebuke and an apology for the political acrimony that marred the 2003 tax debate and called for bipartisan cooperation this year. "We made the joint mistake of false pride and misplaced loyalty," Perkins, D-Henderson, said. "We, all of us, myself included, allowed ourselves to get sucked into behavior that not only delayed action, it demeaned the institution we serve." After the Assembly elected him to a third term as Speaker, Perkins delivered a 15-minute speech outlining the Democrats' agenda, calling for a hike in the minimum wage, stronger ethics laws and a focus on health care. [continues 629 words]
CARSON CITY -- Taxes, marijuana and improving Nevada schools are among the major issues that will confront the 73rd Nevada Legislature that was to open at noon today. The 63 lawmakers -- 42 in the Assembly and 21 in the Senate -- will devote themselves to ceremonial functions such as electing officers and passing a bill to finance the first part of the session. The session, expected to cost $18 million to $19 million, will last 120 days unless the legislators can't finish their work and Gov. Kenny Guinn has to convene a special session. [continues 980 words]
CARSON CITY -- On the opening day of the Legislature, Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins declared that the House will not legalize marijuana. Despite a citizens petition supporting legalization, Perkins, a Henderson Police deputy chief, said he would not allow it because crime and drugs go hand in hand and legalizing marijuana would make matters worse. But those who back allowing adults to have one ounce of marijuana say Perkins has it backwards. Kami Dempsey, spokeswoman for the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, said the initiative petition "would start to take marijuana out of the hands of drug dealers and put control where it belongs, with the state." [continues 422 words]
Nevada's attorney general won't appeal a recent federal court ruling that lets backers of a petition to ease state marijuana laws present their initiative to the 2005 Legislature. "We're just going to move forward and not fight it," Joshua Hicks, senior deputy attorney general, said Wednesday, referring to U.S. District Judge James Mahan's decision last Friday. Mahan ruled in favor of the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Marijuana Project. That enables the committee to present its petition to the 2005 Legislature, which convenes Monday. [continues 218 words]
A federal judge has ruled that people who obeyed state government rules on circulating ballot petitions did the right thing. The ruling by U.S. District Judge James Mahan will send three petitions to the Nevada Legislature and then (if the lawmakers fail to approve them) on to the 2006 ballot. Signature gatherers had followed instructions from state officials and county clerks in gathering enough signatures to total 10 percent of the number of people who voted in the 2002 Nevada general election. After they turned in their signatures, the Nevada Attorney General's Office said the petitioners made a mistake by following official rules and should have used the 2004 election, not 2002, as a benchmark. Under the new rule, all three petitions failed. One of the petitions involves marijuana use, and two deal with tobacco use. [end]
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada's attorney general won't appeal a recent federal court ruling that lets backers of a petition to ease state marijuana laws present their initiative to the 2005 Legislature. "We're just going to move forward and not fight it," Joshua Hicks, senior deputy attorney general, said Wednesday, referring to U.S. District Judge James Mahan's decision last Friday. Mahan ruled in favor of the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Marijuana Project. That enables the committee to present its petition to the 2005 Legislature, which convenes Monday. [continues 218 words]
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." [continues 558 words]
LAS VEGAS - A federal judge ruled Friday that the Nevada Secretary of State was wrong to disqualify a petition to legalize marijuana possession, giving new life to the initiative and two proposed anti-smoking measures. Secretary of State Dean Heller said he will comply with the federal court order directing his office to qualify three initiative petitions. The two anti-smoking petitions and one calling on lawmakers to legalize small amounts of marijuana will be forwarded to the Nevada Legislature when the 2005 session convenes Feb. 7, Heller said. [continues 405 words]
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Three state initiatives - including one that would make Nevada the first state to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana - were revived Friday when a judge ruled that the secretary of state was wrong to raise petition requirements while signatures were being gathered. If the Legislature does not approve the initiatives, including two anti-smoking measures, they will end up on the 2006 election ballot. Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller's office had issued a guide that said petition-gathers needed to submit 51,337 valid signatures, based on 10 percent of the voter turnout in the 2002 election. [continues 372 words]
LAS VEGAS -- A federal judge ruled Friday that the Nevada Secretary of State was wrong to disqualify a petition to legalize marijuana possession, giving new life to the initiative and two proposed anti-smoking measures. An aide said Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller would comply with the judge's order in the marijuana case and would concede a state court case challenging his decision to reject the two anti-smoking initiative petitions. "We will move to drop the other court case and move the three petitions forward to the Legislature," Heller's spokesman Steve George said. [continues 412 words]
A Las Vegas federal judge is set to hear arguments today over claims the state changed the rules after the fact by disqualifying two anti-smoking petitions and the marijuana initiative. Secretary of State Dean Heller disqualified all three initiatives after receiving an Nevada Attorney General's opinion that the number of signatures they needed to qualify must be 10 percent or more of the total voter turnout in the November 2004 elections. All three petition drives were conducted under the understanding they would have to collect 10 percent of the November 2002 turnout. [continues 312 words]
A coalition of health groups says its initiative petition to limit smoking in public places should be allowed to go to the Nevada Legislature next month because a state law regarding petition signatures is ambiguous. The coalition submitted its opening brief to District Judge Bill Maddox in efforts to overrule Secretary of State Dean Heller, who decided the petition lacks the required signatures. The American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association have joined in a suit asking the judge to find the petition valid so as to "avoid manifest injustice and hardship" to the group. [continues 217 words]
The Attorney General's Office ruled Monday that petitions asking the Legislature to legalize and control possession of marijuana for personal use and to restrict cigarette smoking must have 30,000 more signatures than organizers were originally told to collect. As a result, Chief Deputy Secretary of State Renee Parker said, all three ballot issues failed and will not be presented to the 2005 Legislature. The Nevada Constitution requires petitions have signatures totaling 10 percent of the number of people who voted in the last general election to qualify. Passage of the initiatives would have put them before the 2005 Legislature as proposed legislation. If lawmakers refused to pass them, they would go back on the next ballot for public enactment. [continues 282 words]
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A coalition of health groups says its initiative petition to limit smoking in public places should be allowed to go to the Nevada Legislature next month because a state law regarding petition signatures is ambiguous. The coalition submitted its opening brief to District Judge Bill Maddox in efforts to overrule Secretary of State Dean Heller, who decided the petition lacks the required signatures. The American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association have joined in a suit asking the judge to find the petition valid so as to "avoid manifest injustice and hardship" to the group. [continues 217 words]
CARSON CITY -- A coalition of health groups says its initiative petition to limit smoking in public places should be allowed to be presented to the Legislature next month because a law regarding signatures is ambiguous. The coalition submitted its opening brief Thursday to District Judge Bill Maddox, who is being asked to overrule Secretary of State Dean Heller, who decided the petition lacks the required signatures. The American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association have joined in a suit asking the judge to find the petition valid so as to "avoid manifest injustice and hardship" to the group. [continues 389 words]
Supporters of changes in Nevada marijuana laws have gone to court to force the state to process their initiative petition. The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada filed suit on Jan. 12 against the Nevada secretary of state, who, together with the state attorney general, increased the number of signatures needed for ballot petitions, disqualifying every petition submitted, not just the marijuana measure. Groups circulating ballot petitions, acting on the advice of county and state election officials, gathered enough signatures to equal 10 percent of the number of voters who went to the polls in 2002, a non-presidential year with low turnout. [continues 282 words]
A lawsuit challenging the disqualification of Nevada initiative petitions to legalize the use of marijuana and to limit smoking in public places has been filed in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Marijuana Policy Project, seeks to force Secretary of State Dean Heller to forward the initiative petitions to the state Legislature. Heller rejected the petitions in December and cited an attorney general's opinion that the groups circulating the measures didn't collect enough valid signatures. He rejected two measures to regulate smoking and the marijuana measure. [continues 213 words]
CARSON CITY -- Backers of an initiative petition to allow adults in Nevada to legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit in Las Vegas asking for emergency action to place the issue before the 2005 Legislature. The Marijuana Policy Project and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada seek a preliminary injunction to force Secretary of State Dean Heller to send the petition to the Legislature, which goes into session on Feb. 7. The lawsuit alleges Heller illegally disqualified the petition based on a ruling that it did not have enough signatures. [continues 458 words]
CARSON CITY, Nev. - A lawsuit challenging the disqualification of Nevada initiative petitions to legalize the use of marijuana and to limit smoking in public places has been filed in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Marijuana Policy Project, seeks to force Secretary of State Dean Heller to forward the initiative petitions to the state Legislature. Heller rejected the petitions in December and cited an attorney general's opinion that the groups circulating the measures didn't collect enough valid signatures. He rejected two measures to regulate smoking and the marijuana measure. [continues 213 words]
Randall G. Shelden's Dec. 30 op-ed was right on target. If harsh penalties served to deter illegal drug use, the elusive goal of a "drug-free" America would have been achieved decades ago. Instead of adding to what is already the highest incarceration rate in the world, we should be funding cost-effective drug treatment. Drug prohibition finances organized crime at home and terrorism abroad, which is then used to justify increased drug war spending. It's time to end this madness and instead treat all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is. It's worth noting that tobacco use has declined considerably in recent years. Public education efforts are paying off. Apparently mandatory minimum sentences, civil asset forfeiture, random drug testing and racial profiling are not necessarily the most cost-effective means of discouraging unhealthy choices. Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C. [end]
Professor Shelden's comments were accurate and this reader appreciates you have the courage to print them ["Expensive Drug War Still Not Working," Dec. 30]. As a retired police officer, my feeling is the only area he left blank was the reduction in public safety caused by drug prohibition. As my colleagues chase marijuana, DUIs killed 17,000 innocents every year. Year after year, about 75 percent of felony crime is caused by drug prohibition (not the use of drugs). Will we ever be as wise as our grandparents and end drug prohibition? Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired), Media Director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, http://www.leap.cc/ Dallas, Texas [end]
The Marijuana Policy Project Monday joined the American Cancer Society in asking the Nevada Secretary of State's Office to reverse its denial of its initiative petition. Citing what they described as "numerous errors" in the Nevada Attorney General's Opinion saying they needed up to 30,000 more signatures to qualify, initiative backers requested that Secretary of State Dean Heller transmit the petition to legalize small amounts of marijuana to the 2005 Legislature. Spokesman Bruce Mirken said they and "Smoke-Free Kids," organizers of the anti-smoking petition caught by the same attorney general's opinion, are also planning a state lawsuit and a federal lawsuit over the ruling. [continues 271 words]
There can be little doubt that Nevada's secretary of state and attorney general recently raised questions about the fairness of laws regulating citizens' initiatives and referenda. The attorney general's office last month issued an opinion that disqualified three initiative petitions--Nevada Clean Air Act, Regulation of Marijuana and Responsibly Protect Nevadans from Second Hand Smoke Act--due to a lack of sufficient valid signatures. The problem is that signature gatherers were told by official sources they had to collect a certain number of signatures in order to qualify, but, after the signatures were submitted, the number was increased, thus voiding the efforts of collectors and disenfranchising voters who signed the petitions. [continues 426 words]
I'm writing about Randall G. Shelden's thoughtful op-ed, "Expensive Drug War Still Not Working," [Dec. 30]. I agree that our drug war is not working to reduce drug usage or the harm caused by drugs. However, it is working to assure full employment for the so-called "drug warriors." It is also probably working to fill the bank accounts of many of our most prominent politicians. To understand how, perhaps we should study the history of alcohol prohibition. The notorious gangster Al Capone made most of his illegal money from alcohol prohibition. Capone often bragged that he "owned" the city of Chicago. Obviously, he didn't own all of the city of Chicago. However, he had most or all of the politicians and police who ran the city on his payroll. Al Capone was a successful businessman and it's not unreasonable to suspect that the drug cartels of today are following his business model. [continues 107 words]
A judge was asked Tuesday to resolve a dispute over a petition to limit smoking in public places -- a petition that was disqualified as a result of a controversial attorney general's opinion. Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox was asked by lawyers for the American Cancer Society and Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller to determine whether the petition should be presented to the 2005 Legislature. The case also would affect a second smoking-restriction proposal and a petition to ease marijuana possession laws. All three proposals were derailed as a result of the attorney general's opinion. [continues 277 words]
CARSON CITY -- A coalition of health groups and the state attorney general's office today were to file a court document to determine if anti-smoking and marijuana initiative petitions qualified to be presented to the 2005 Legislature. Bob Crowell, the American Cancer Society's lawyer, and Senior Deputy Attorney General Josh Hicks prepared what is called a "submission of controversy without action" to District Judge Bill Maddox of Carson City. It was to be filed today. Crowell called the action the "most expeditious way" to get a court ruling on the controversy over the number of signatures required on initiative petitions. [continues 575 words]
LAS VEGAS - Despite mounting pressure and the threat of a lawsuit, the Nevada attorney general's office will not change an opinion that led to the disqualification of initiative petitions to limit smoking in public places and legalize marijuana. Attorney General Brian Sandoval "stands by the opinion," Tom Sargent, spokesman for Sandoval, said Monday. Sargent said reversing the decision would defy a precedent the Nevada Supreme Court set in a similar case in 1994. A Washoe County District Court judge will review the issue Feb. 7 in Reno. [continues 276 words]
A judge was asked Tuesday to resolve a dispute over a petition to limit smoking in public places - a petition that was disqualified as a result of a controversial attorney general's opinion. Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox was asked by lawyers for the American Cancer Society and Secretary of State Dean Heller to determine whether the petition should be presented to the 2005 Legislature. The case also would affect a second smoking-restriction proposal and a petition to ease marijuana possession laws. All three proposals were derailed as a result of the attorney general's opinion. [continues 277 words]
CARSON CITY -- The state attorney general's office said Sunday it doesn't intend to change its legal opinion that disqualified three initiative petitions to limit smoking in public places and to allow one ounce of marijuana for adults. It rejected the request of Secretary of State Dean Heller, who asked that the attorney general's office take another look at its legal opinion to see if it would change its view. Tom Sargent, spokesman for Attorney General Brian Sandoval, said the Nevada Supreme Court in a 1994 decision ruled in a case that "the facts are so close to those in this instance that we would be making law if we were to defy the precedent set by the court." [continues 484 words]
LAS VEGAS -- Despite mounting pressure and the threat of a lawsuit, the Nevada attorney general's office will not change an opinion that led to the disqualification of initiative petitions to limit smoking in public places and legalize marijuana. Attorney General Brian Sandoval "stands by the opinion," Tom Sargent, spokesman for Sandoval, said Monday. Sargent said reversing the decision would defy a precedent the Nevada Supreme Court set in a similar case in 1994. A Washoe District Court judge will review the issue Feb. 7 in Reno. [continues 362 words]
CARSON CITY, Nev. - The state attorney general's office has no plans to change its legal opinion that disqualified three initiative petitions to limit smoking in public places and to allow one ounce of marijuana for adults. Secretary of State Dean Heller asked for another look at the opinion, but Tom Sargent, spokesman for Attorney General Brian Sandoval, said a change would "defy the precedent" set in a similar case by the state Nevada Supreme Court in 1994. Heller asked for the review after getting an appeal from Robert Crowell, attorney for the Nevada Clean Air initiative petition that seeks to limit smoking in public buildings. [continues 242 words]
Supporters of three initiative petitions celebrated getting on the ballot--until Nevada's attorney general found a new way to count the signatures Three initiative petitions may have qualified for legislative review and the Nevada ballot, but it will take a court fight to decide. The petitions: * An anti-smoking petition registered with the state on March 17 by the Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition (NTPC), backed by a couple of dozen groups like the American Cancer Society. * A more permissive smoking petition registered with the state on Aug. 13 by the Smoke Free Coalition (SFC), backed by bars and casinos. [continues 728 words]
Inside Nevada
