AREA GRANDMOTHER WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEW NEVADA POT LAWS

Andrea Katz, A Reno Grandmother, Says She Needs Pot.

She needs it to help her sleep. She needs it to help her eat. Most of all,
she needs the drug to help ease the depression and soften "the
pricks-and-needles" pain she suffers while living with AIDS.

Starting today, Nevadans who meet specific state guidelines will be able to
grow and use their own pot for medicinal purposes. For those who aren't
patients, state laws for possession of the weed will be lessened from a
felony offense to a misdemeanor for small amounts.

The new law is one of numerous laws passed by the Legislature that take
effect today.

Katz, who once spent two years in prison for possession of marijuana, has
been dreaming of this day since her diagnosis in 1994.

"This is going to make me feel like I'm not a criminal because I know that
I'll have permission to smoke pot legally," Katz said, who plans to apply
for state approval as soon as possible.

"It's going to make life more comfortable for me and a lot of my friends who
are also planning to apply."

But there's a hitch. Medical marijuana, while already made legal in Alaska,
Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Maine, Oregon, Washington and Colorado, still
violates federal law.

The Nevada Department of Agriculture, administer of the state program, warns
applicants that Nevada's statute does not protect them from federal
prosecution.

But Katz, 47, said it's a small risk compared to what some other AIDS
patients she knows have done: buy it from the street.

"I don't think it would be a problem," Katz said. "I wouldn't be selling it.
I wouldn't be driving under the influence of the drug. I wouldn't be
carrying it around with me. It would be for my personal use in my own home."

And Katz isn't alone.

More than 200 people called the Department of Agriculture during the last
week, asking for applications to the program. In all, about 500 are expected
to qualify for the registry in the first year.

Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick is worried those 500 people,
and potentially thousands more as the program picks up speed in years to
come, will present difficulties for law officers patrolling the streets.

"This is a nightmare for officers," Gammick said. "You catch someone with
marijuana and you ask them where their card is and they say they left it at
home. And then you have the problems of people driving under the influence
of this.

"It sends the message that were lessening our stance on drugs."

Possession of marijuana in any amount used to be a felony before today. Now,
people carrying one ounce or less of pot who aren't certified under the
program will be charged with a misdemeanor.

Reno Police Deputy Chief Jim Weston said he believes the downgrade could
help more people with drug problems by getting them into court more often.

Weston said people arrested on felony marijuana possession charges were
often written up in a report and never prosecuted because authorities were
preoccupied with more serious crimes. He said a misdemeanor charge with a
mandatory appearance for court gives judges the opportunity to see if the
person needs help.

"But I don't think it will do any good if the person is given a ticket, like
a traffic violation that they are made to pay," Weston said.

In all, he doesn't expect officers in his department to encounter any
problems with the new law, partly because the medical marijuana requirements
are clear.

To qualify for the program, people must:

* Request an application from the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

* Have a licensed physician complete a statement certifying that the patient
suffers from medical conditions related to AIDS, cancer, glaucoma or any
condition causing severe pain, nausea, seizures or muscle cramping.

* Clear a law-enforcement background check.

* Provide certified fingerprints to the Department of Agriculture for
records. The application process could take up to 30 days.

If approved, the patient obtains a photo identification card at the
Department of Motor Vehicles. With the card, patients are able to possess
one ounce of usable marijuana, have three mature plants and four immature
plants at their home.

They cannot use the marijuana in a public place, drive or fly a plane under
the influence, be in possession of a firearm while under the influence or
sell or deliver the marijuana to another person. But getting started may be
the riskiest part of the program.

A patient has to engage in an illegal activity to obtain the seed to grow
the plant for their own use. They either have to already have the marijuana
illegally or buy the seeds or the plant from the street. There is no
provision in the law that grants a person legal access to their first seed.

"But it's out there more than you would ever think," said Rose, who asked to
remain anonymous. "People you would never guess smoke pot are smoking it."

Almost every night for the last eight years, Rose's husband has come home
from work, lit up a hand-rolled joint and taken a puff to ease the muscle
spasms that ripple his limp legs.

The 29-year-old Las Vegas banking supervisor, made paraplegic from a severe
auto accident more than 10 years ago, found pot to be the only medicine that
relaxes his muscles while also allowing him to be alert.

"The problem with morphine and codeine is that you're doped," said Rose,
which is not her real name. "But with marijuana he's able to function."

Other drugs that are legal with prescriptions that simulate the effects of
marijuana aren't always effective, Katz said.

"You can't control your dosage with Marinol because it comes in a pill
form," she said of the pharmaceutical drug with similar properties to
marijuana.

"Pot you can smoke as much as you need or as little as you need, and you
know right away how much that is because it enters your blood quicker when
you smoke it," Katz said. "A pill, you have to wait an hour for it to work
and that can be a long time when you're suffering."

Gammick said he wouldn't believe claims about the medicinal qualities of
marijuana until there was support at the federal level, saying that federal
agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration haven't recognized
marijuana as a medicine.

Dr. Trudy Larson, who treats AIDS patients, said she's had many inquiries
from patients interested in participating in the program and plans to sign
the physician's statement form if asked.

"This is not me saying, 'I'm going to prescribe this to you because I think
it will benefit you,' " Larson said. "This is a form verifying they have a
certain medical condition. It's a patient initiative."

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored Nevada's
medical marijuana bill AB 453, said she's not expecting any amendments to
the new law during the next Legislative session, but she will be watching to
see how the program is working.

"Our model is based on the Oregon model and that's been working great for
years," she said. "Out of 1,900 cases, they've only had two reported abuses,
either someone smoking it in public or selling it."

To request an application for the medical marijuana program, contact the
Nevada Department of Agriculture at 688-1180.