NEVADA PANEL RECOMMENDS TREATMENT, NOT PRISON, FOR DRUG ADDICTS CARSON CITY (AP) - The Nevada Supreme Court's Judicial Assessment Commission has recommended treatment instead of prison for drug users and a misdemeanor ticket instead of felony charges for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Possession of any amount of pot and being under the influence of any drug are now classified as felonies under Nevada law. The state's marijuana possession laws are toughest in the nation. But the commission, appointed and chaired by Chief Justice Bob Rose, has urged those penalties be sharply reduced. Under their proposal, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana would be a misdemeanor and handled by issuing a citation. If the amount was more than an ounce but less than four ounces, the offense would be punishable as a gross misdemeanor. Only when more than four ounces of marijuana was involved would the charge remain a felony punishable by one to six years in prison. In addition, unless another offense involving a greater penalty was involved, those under the influence of an illegal drug would face a misdemeanor. But the proposal gives judges the power to order that person into a treatment program. District judges around the state have said in the past that well over half the cases that come before them involve some form of substance abuse. A bill that would have reduced the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana was defeated in the 1999 Legislature, but another version is being drafted for the 2001 session. In addition, the judges urged a major change in the law to get the mentally ill out of Nevada's jails. They proposed a state law "requiring the state Mental Health System to take custody of all (mentally ill) persons arrested for committing a crime other than a felony crime of violence." The judges are also urging the state executive branch "re-establish an appropriate and comprehensive mental health program and adequately fund it" and give judges the authority to divert nonviolent offenders with mental illness into treatment. In addition to changing handling of drug addicts and the mentally ill, the commission report calls for major changes in how judges are selected and in the structure of Nevada's courts. The biggest change would be to impose a version of the Missouri Plan in Nevada where judges would be appointed on merit, then face an election with no opponent after two years on the bench to determine whether the people wanted to retain the judge. If not, another judge would be appointed.
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