NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL DIRECTOR TALKS ABOUT MARIJUANA INITIATIVE

Organized and well-funded campaigns lobbying for the legalization of
marijuana pose one of the biggest threats to the safety and health of the
nation's teenagers, said the nation's drug czar said Thursday night in Reno.

"By stimulating the use of drugs, we make all other institution of society
more difficult to carry out," said John P. Walters, director of the
National Drug Control Policy. "No school will be better with drug use, no
family will be better with drug use."

Walters was a guest of two treatment organizations -- Join Together
Northern Nevada and the Nevada Alliance for Addictive Disorders, Advocacy,
Prevention and Treatment Services -- which oppose the Nov. 5 ballot
question to legalize the possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana for adults.

He cited figures that show that 59 percent of youths age 12 to 17 admitted
into a drug treatment program had used marijuana. He also said that the
younger the marijuana smoker, the more likely he or she would be dependent
on marijuana as an adult.

His numbers also showed that delinquent behavior among youths was linked to
frequent marijuana use.

"More crimes are stimulated by people under the influence of drugs, who
become more violent, dangerous and paranoid," Walters told about 50 invited
guests at the Airport Plaza Hotel.

Walters came to Reno after a Las Vegas appearance and had visited the state
in July, saying Nevada shouldn't become the center for drug tourism.
Walters said he decided to speak against marijuana initiatives in Nevada
and other states because he feared lies perpetrated by supporters were
gaining acceptance as the truth.

"We saw the problem that marijuana was massively underestimated in the
public mind and if we didn't do anything it would grow," he said. "I do not
believe the truth can be silenced and I do not believe they have truth on
their side."

He said a common lie is that marijuana is not addictive, when in fact it
is. He said marijuana on the street these days has higher levels of THC,
which make it both more addictive and more detrimental to health.

Walters also dispelled critics' claims that taxpayers spend money for
prisoners incarcerated for marijuana possession. He said almost that all
inmates serving time for marijuana-related convictions were drug traffickers.

But Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said the numbers
presented by Walters were misleading. She cited a 2000 study by the
Institute of Medicine commissioned by the Office of National Drug Control
Policy, which said underage smoking and alcohol drinking typically precede
marijuana use, and that marijuana is rarely the gateway drug.

Giunchigliani, who chairs the statewide steering committee for Nevadans for
Responsible Law Enforcement, said supporters of Question 9 never said
marijuana was not addictive, just that it is the least addictive of current
illicit drugs.

"This does not advocate drug abuse, what is says is that we want to remove
it from drug traffickers," said Giunchigliani.