MARIJUANA PETITION FALLS SHORT IN TWO COUNTIES; APPEALS POSSIBLE

CARSON CITY -- It appeared less likely Monday that Nevadans would get the
chance to vote on a medical marijuana initiative after the secretary of
state's office reported that the measure did not qualify in two counties.

Petitions to qualify the measure for the ballot, circulated by Americans
for Medical Rights, fell seven signatures short in Lyon County and 36 short
in Nye County. The group was successful in 11 other counties, but needed
enough signatures of registered voters in all 13 counties to put the
measure on the November ballot.

The group can appeal to Secretary of State Dean Heller to review the
results in Nye and Lyon counties. If an appeal is unsuccessful with Heller,
the group could challenge the count in district court.

Dan Hart, a spokesman for the group, said an appeal to Heller is likely,
though the group has yet to be officially notified of the results.

"We want to take a look at how many signatures were disallowed and make a
determination from there what the next step will be," he said. "If, in
fact, we did not reach the threshold, an appeal to the secretary of state
is likely.

" The petitions were found valid in 11 counties after an initial review by
county clerks. But in Lyon County, a sample of signatures checked by the
clerk was below the number needed to qualify.

Lyon County reported Monday that a count of all 1,418 signatures showed 975
from registered voters, seven below the required number of 982. In Nye
County, Heller ordered a check of 207 signatures rejected by the county
clerk for a variety of reasons, including questionable dates.

A check of the disputed signatures failed to produce the 926 signatures of
registered voters needed, however, with only 890 valid signatures out of a
total of 1,228.

The medical marijuana proposal would allow a patient to use, upon the
advice of a physician, marijuana for "treatment or alleviation" of cancer,
glaucoma, AIDS, persistent nausea, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and other
medical problems.

The proposal is one of several being pushed in states across the nation.
The proposals have drawn opposition from people concerned that the ballot
questions are a step toward legalization of marijuana.

Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell said the proposal could have
posed problems for law enforcement because of the likelihood that forged or
questionable prescriptions would be used in an effort to obtain the drug
for nonmedical purposes.

But law enforcement faces such a situation now with improper use of other
types of prescription drugs, and the agency would be able to deal with a
similar problem with marijuana, he said.

"I don't know anything about the medicinal value of marijuana," Bell said.
Larry Matheis, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Association,
said that regardless of whether the initiative makes it on the ballot,
Americans for Medical Rights should seek support for Food and Drug
Administration approved studies to determine if there really is any
evidence that marijuana is a useful drug.

"So far the evidence is anecdotal," he said. "If the initiative fails, we
should still proceed along these lines so the next time the issue comes up,
since the issue is not going away, there will be a better consensus."

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)