Residents in Nevada and four other states - California, Massachusetts, Maine and Arizona - will learn sometime Tuesday night whether voters have approved ballot measures to legalize marijuana. And as multiple recent reports have noted, states that take this leap will almost assuredly experience unintended trickle-down consequences, particularly for young people. For instance, David Kroll, writing for Forbes.com on California's Proposition 64, reported this past week on the work of Michael Taffe, a drug abuse researcher at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. In an informative Facebook post addressing many of his concerns with Prop 64 and similar initiatives in other states, Dr. Taffe notes that 5 to 6 percent of high school seniors in America already use marijuana daily. Further, Dr. Taffe points out that marijuana has a conditional probability of dependence - an addiction rate - of 9 percent, more than twice that of alcohol, which is at 4 percent. Dr. Taffe also rightly notes that the scope of the addiction depends on how many people are using it - a number certain to increase with marijuana legalization. [end]
When Tommy Chong served nine months in prison for selling bongs, prison executives used him and other famous prisoners as sightseeing stops on metaphorical map-of-the-stars tours for visiting dignitaries. Similarly, Charles Manson and Bernie Madoff were sightseeing stars in their prisons, said Chong, who will be in Vegas on Election Day to promote Nevada's legal marijuana Question 2. "People come to visit the prisons - people in the industry - and when I was in there, they'd trot me out. They'd come and visit their famous prisoners," Chong said. "They would give tours," he added. "If you're a celebrity, you get treated very well, because you're a draw." [end]
In response to the Sunday commentary, "High-risk proposal": Cannabis prohibitionist, Dr. R.J. Petrella, echoed the prohibitionist government's lies, half-truths and propaganda right on queue but added enough additional discredited claims to make one believe that re-legalizing the plant equates to the end of the world. I'd like to say Colorado voters heard it all before and voted, but Dr. Pertella went over the top in a way that is just plain preposterous. One example is his rants about cannabis and cancer, which is interesting since cannabis has never caused a single case of cancer in more than 5,000 years of documented use. Compare that to cigarettes, which kill more than 1,000 Americans daily. A sane or moral argument to continue punishing responsible adults who choose to use the relatively safe, God-given plant simply doesn't exist. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana in Nevada joined the fight with barely two months left in the election cycle, but they've wasted little time in rolling out a well-funded ad campaign. Question 2 foes launched their first series of digital and television ads focusing on children's exposure to marijuana and public safety issues. Their funding came mostly from Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson, whose donations made up $2 million of the $2.1 million raised by Protecting Nevada's Children PAC, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday. The PAC was formed in early September to oppose Question 2, which would allow adults 21 or older to legally purchase and use marijuana in Nevada. [continues 472 words]
Voters in the commonwealth of Massachusetts will face Question 4 on their November ballot, a measure that mirrors Nevada's Question 2. Both would usher in the commercialization of legalized marijuana. Both initiatives were drafted and are promoted by the Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington, D.C.. Each is locally sponsored by a "Committee to Regulate and Tax Marijuana Like Alcohol." Surprisingly, the pushback against legalization for the commercial marijuana industry has been much more emphatic in liberal Massachusetts than in Nevada. In May, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker made common cause with three leading Democrats - Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Attorney General Maura Healey. Together, they formed an opposition organization, The Committee for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts. [continues 312 words]
CARSON CITY - State Attorney General Adam Laxalt and other law enforcement leaders declared their opposition Thursday to a Nevada ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana. At a news conference in front of the Legislative Building, Laxalt said Question 2, if approved by voters in November, would harm Nevada children and lead to accidental poisonings, addiction and increased road fatalities. Question 2 would allow people age 21 and older to possess 1 ounce of marijuana for personal use. It would restrict who can grow, test, process and distribute recreational pot to those already licensed to do the same with medical marijuana or who run liquor distributorships. [continues 241 words]
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has just issued a helpful reminder to all Americans. In denying a petition to loosen restrictions on marijuana, the agency repeated that the drug has "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States. This may come as a surprise, given that 25 states - including Nevada - - already allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to treat maladies from PTSD to Alzheimer's disease. Yet the truth is, research has yet to find firm evidence that marijuana can alleviate physical suffering. [continues 391 words]
Nevadans will pass judgment in November on state Question 2, which would essentially legalize pot for recreational use among adults. As the election nears, it's worth noting that many doctors in states that allow the drug's use for medical purposes remain wary of recommending it to their patients. "The hesitance reflects persistent concerns about the possible legal repercussions for their medical licenses if they prescribe a drug the federal government classifies as dangerous," the Boston Globe reported last month. "It also underscores the lingering doubts about marijuana's health risks and benefits." [continues 284 words]
Steve Sebelius's July 1 column ("Asking the right question on marijuana") correctly reported on Gov. Brian Sandoval's opposition to the legalization of marijuana in Nevada; noted that more young people would likely try the drug if it were legalized; acknowledged that workplace issues would increase; and admitted that a "black market" would still exist after legalization. On those points we agree. However, Mr. Sebelius's conclusion frames a "seminal issue" narrowly for voters, focusing on his belief in the right of someone to use marijuana in a "free society." He reaches that result without any regard to the effect of legalization on others. [continues 180 words]
So Gov. Brian Sandoval, the former attorney general and federal judge, has come out squarely against the legalization of recreational marijuana in Nevada. The governor told the Las Vegas Sun that, while he's personally never used the drug, he's concerned about the impact legalization would have on young people. For the record, the November initiative known as Question 2 would allow only people age 21 and older to possess one ounce of marijuana for personal use. Like the governor, I've never used marijuana, so my thoughts on the subject are purely academic. And my primary concerns about Question 2 are less about the drug itself, and more about the mechanics of legalization. [continues 492 words]
A political action committee backing recreational marijuana legalization has recently seen a stream of green, as in cash. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the pro-recreational marijuana PAC, has raised $285,500 this year, a June 11 filing with the secretary of state's office shows. That number is nearly half of what the group raised in 2014, when the initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use first appeared on the ballot. More than half of the 2016 fundraising total came from June 7-9, according to the filing; most of the money came from Nevada marijuana companies such as Terra Tech Corp., Greenmart Of Nevada, Medical Marijuana of Las Vegas and Paradise Wellness Center. [continues 283 words]
The risk of developing lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, is 10 times higher in those who smoke anything. All forms of smoking, including smokeless tobacco, put the user at increased risk for cancer of any part of the oral cavity, from lip and tongue to mouth and throat. The American Medical Association in an updated report labeled marijuana "a dangerous drug." Tolerance in users develops rapidly and leads to escalating use. These facts should be taken into consideration before voting to legalize recreational use. Many physicians feel continued use can lead to psychological changes. Donna Andress Searchlight [end]
Veterans recently joined a tour of a local dispensary and testing lab to tell their stories of how medical marijuana has improved their lives since they left the military. The tour was hosted by the Las Vegas Medical Marijuana Association, which was formed to promote the medical marijuana industry in Nevada. The association recognizes the use of cannabis to treat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments. "Marijuana changed my whole life," said Cristina Alfonso-Zea, an Army veteran who uses medical marijuana to treat PTSD. "From the time I left the military, I attempted suicide every year." [continues 348 words]
Nevada Voters Should Turn Down Legal Pot At the same time Nevadans will help elect a president, they will also determine whether to legalize recreational marijuana And while it may seem like a no-brainer in a free-wheeling state known for legalized gambling and a lax approach to prostitution, recreational weed comes with health, safety and social costs that make legalizing marijuana a dangerous proposal for Nevadans. State ballot Question 2 in the November election would make it legal for people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use. A 15 percent tax would be applied to legal pot sales and revenues generated would be earmarked for education. [continues 435 words]
Police and prosecutors across the country have for years beaten back most serious efforts to reform civil forfeiture statutes, which allow law enforcement to seize property from people who have never been charged, let alone convicted, of any crime. But signs abound that justice and due process may eventually prevail. Civil forfeiture laws proliferated in the 1980s as part of the war on drugs and were intended to ensure that crime bosses didn't profit from their shadowy pursuits. But their aggressive application in many jurisdictions has also led to hundreds of high-profile abuses involving innocent people forced to surrender cash, homes, cars, jewelry and other valuables that the authorities merely suspected of being connected to a crime. [continues 333 words]
Kudos to letter writer Richard Shengulette for calling out the drug users who imperil innocent drivers on our highways (May 31 Review-Journal). Back in my day as a police officer, booze was the drug of choice and almost 50 percent of fatal traffic accidents were attributed to it. In this new age of the millennial, we can now add heroin, pharmaceuticals, cocaine, and of course, marijuana, to the list of causation factors. Mr. Shengulette ended his letter by stating that the public should know who the politicians are that promote the legalization of such drugs. I can give him the name of one politician whose name pops up constantly here in Las Vegas as a chief supporter for the legalization of marijuana movement: state Sen. Tick Segerblom. [continues 72 words]
Regarding the drug issue, let's cut through all the political correctness and revert to reality. For most of my adult years, I drove big rigs. Perhaps you are aware of a federal law stating that any driver can be drug tested at any time. I wonder how this would work for all the drug users. As soon as a company looking for quality employees at top wages mentions a drug screening test, half of the potential applicants spontaneously get up and leave. [continues 311 words]
Workers with the state of Nevada are using regulatory power to stop many cancer patients from getting medical marijuana, in an effort to curb pot tourists from California. By law, Nevada allows visitors from other states to use their home state's medical marijuana cards to buy medical weed at dispensaries. This is called "reciprocity." As much as half of Nevada dispensary business comes from reciprocity, especially from California, where doctors typically hand patients paperwork instead of making them go fetch state-issued ID cards. [continues 699 words]
Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Eugene Monroe missed most of the 2015 National Football League season after he tore a shoulder ligament against the Arizona Cardinals last October. After having the torn labrum surgically repaired in December, doctors prescribed Monroe the usual gamut of opioid painkillers like oxycodone to manage his pain. Pain is an accepted part of the profession for Monroe and other athletes. Before NFL games even start, players are shot up with the drug Toradol, which helps numb the body and relieve pain, he said. But Monroe said those numbing effects can be so strong that players often get seriously injured without knowing, sometimes not discovering the injury until days later. [continues 550 words]
Paiute Dispensary to Be Built on Tribal Land Near Downtown The Las Vegas Paiute Tribe is primed to open the state's first medical marijuana facility on Native American lands. Right next to Downtown Las Vegas. Tribal Chairman Benny Tso on Monday announced the tribe's plans to jump into the Southern Nevada medical marijuana industry full-bore this year. The tribe partnered with New Mexico-based medical marijuana company Ultra Health to build the facility. Ultra Health operates six other facilities in Arizona and New Mexico. [continues 674 words]
