MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE OPENS 14TH WEEK OF LEGISLATURE

Bill Allows Ill Nevadans To Grow Own Pot

CARSON CITY -- Nevada lawmakers open the 14th week of the 2001
session with a hearing today on a bill letting seriously ill Nevadans
grow their own marijuana for pain relief.

Assembly Bill 453, up for review in Assembly Ways and Means, also
eases penalties for anyone caught with small amounts of the illegal
weed.

Assembly Education will review Senate Bill 289, requiring school
districts to plan for and try to head off school violence; and Senate
Human Resources and Facilities will consider AB634, creating a review
board overseeing police within the University and Community College
System of Nevada.

Also today, Senate Judiciary will review AB125, which prohibits
businesses from employing anyone younger than 18 to distribute
promotional materials that include offers for alcoholic drinks.

Assembly Health and Human Services will consider SB239, Gov. Kenny
Guinn's plan for upgrading his SenioRx program, which helps seniors
cover the costs of pharmaceutical drugs.

And Senate Finance will continue hearings today on various budget
bills, including one to ensure that Nevada's K-12 education funding
matches up to the national average.

On Tuesday, Assembly Judiciary will consider SB20, which would let
weekend tourists pack their registered concealed weapons in Nevada
for up to three days without notifying local authorities. Tourists
already may come to Nevada with guns, but the guns can't be concealed.

The panel will also look at SB172, removing a limitation on the
number of firearms allowed on a concealed-weapons permit.

Also Tuesday, the Assembly Select Committee on Energy will continue
its review of proposals to allow partial deregulation and force
Nevada utilities to partner with energy giants that had tried to buy
in-state power plants.

On Wednesday, Senate Government Affairs will review AB225, aimed at
stopping public boards from meeting in small groups to circumvent
Nevada's open meeting law; and AB483, improving campaign finance
disclosure forms.

Assembly Commerce and Labor will take up SB133, a controversial
proposal to let dentists licensed in other states practice in Nevada
for two years on a temporary license.

Senate Judiciary will review AB370, which allows an employer to seek
court injunctions to stop workplace harassment; and AB37, which
increases the child support paid by divorced parents who have
good-paying jobs and physical custody of their children less than
half the time.

Assembly Judiciary will consider SB242, which prohibits the growing,
cultivating or propagating of marijuana. The measure is aimed at
fixing a loophole created by a 1999 law to allow individuals to
legally grow up to 99 pounds of marijuana.

Also Wednesday, Assembly Health and Human Services will debate SB191,
allowing parents to turn over to police, hospitals and other
locations babies they otherwise might abandon.

On Thursday, Senate Commerce and Labor will review AB133 which makes
contractors and subcontractors responsible for repairs when
construction defects are found.

On Friday, Assembly Judiciary will review SB101, which ensures that
bingo games at churches or senior centers don't require special
gambling permits.

Also Friday, Senate Government Affairs will review AB326, amending a
1985 law that requires detailed reports from local governments that
spend more than $6,000 on lobbying during a legislative session.

And Senate Finance Chairman Bill Raggio, R-Reno, has vowed to have
budgets closed by Friday.