NEVADA LAWMAKERS APPROVE BILL TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND RELAX
POSSESSION LAW

State lawmakers voted Monday to legalize marijuana for medical
purposes and relax penalties for possession of the drug.

The Assembly's vote puts the state on a potential collision course
with the federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month
that a federal law classifying the drug as illegal includes no
exception for medical uses.

The state Senate has already approved the bill, and it is expected to
receive Gov. Kenny Guinn's signature.

The bill would allow seriously ill Nevadans to have up to seven
marijuana plants for personal use.

It says a person with an ounce or less of marijuana could be charged
with a misdemeanor and fined up to $600. A second offense would carry
a higher fine and placement in a treatment or rehabilitation program;
three-time offenders would be charged with a gross misdemeanor and pay
a still-steeper fine.

The Senate amended the bill to add felony charges for a fourth or
subsequent possession charge.

Under current Nevada law, possession of any amount of marijuana can
result in felony charges leading to prison terms of one to four years.
But first offenses involving small amounts are usually handled as
misdemeanors, with no jail time and fines of a few hundred dollars.

The bill would allow the state to seek federal permission to conduct
research into whether marijuana helps ease pain, nausea or other
symptoms of seriously ill patients.

The bill would also allow the creation of a state registry for
patients whose doctors recommend they use marijuana for medical reasons.

Nevadans voted overwhelmingly in 1998 and 2000 to amend the state
constitution to allow marijuana use by those suffering from cancer,
AIDS, glaucoma and other painful and potentially terminal illnesses.
The task of implementing the voters' mandate was left to the
Legislature.

Besides Nevada, voters in Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado,
Maine, Oregon and Washington have approved ballot initiatives allowing
medical marijuana. In Hawaii, the legislature passed a similar law and
the governor signed it last year.