NEVADA MAY GO TO POT -- LEGALLY

Proposal Would Let Adults Buy Up to an Ounce of Pot, Which Would Be
Taxed

RENO, Nev. -- Gambling, prostitution and now pot? Organizers of a
Nevada ballot measure hope voters in a state where almost everything
goes will go one better and legalize marijuana.

If the measure passes Nov. 7, Nevada will be the first state to allow
adults to possess up to an ounce of pot that they could buy at
government-regulated marijuana shops.

The Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, which has pushed
medical marijuana and decriminalization laws, thinks Nevada -- with
its embrace of certain vices and its streak of Western independence --
is a perfect venue.

In an editorial, the rural Lahontan Valley News argued that gambling,
Nevada's most powerful industry, caters to "visceral pleasures," and
it would be hypocritical to oppose legalization of marijuana on moral
grounds.

Opponents, including law enforcement, the nation's drug czar, and
civic and business groups, argue that the measure would encourage the
use of other drugs, and they question whether it would even prove to
be a good source of tax revenue.

The measure directs the state's Department of Taxation to set up
procedures to license and regulate marijuana growers, distributors and
retailers. It also imposes a $45-per-ounce excise tax.