POT. IT DOES AN ECONOMY GOOD.

Emerald Triangle, California. That's Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity
counties, -where the economy is smokin' hot, thanks to marijuana, the
region's top cash crop. It's also an area where Prop 19, a measure to
legalize marijuana in the state, failed on Nov. 2. How deliciously
twisted is that?

News reports suggest entrepreneurs in California's booming weed
economy feared both a potential drop in the price of pot and losing
their lifestyle to corporate farming ops. Far better, I guess, to
operate an illegal 1,000-acre pot farm in a national forest than sell
out to Philip Morris.

Anti-weed advocates approved of California's morally superior choice,
while acknowledging that voters weren't exactly just saying no to
drugs. Here's a quote from 29-year-old Shaun Ramos on Join Together's
website: "I don't want Anheuser-Busch handling pot or to have to buy
Marlboro marijuana. This is all about corporate control."

Whatever the reason, voting down Prop 19 might have been California's
loss. But it could be Nevada's gain.

Northern California supporters of Prop 19 fantasized about a new
Napa-Sonoma, drawing tourists from around the world to tasting rooms
for boutique marijuana. Marketers could promote "ganja boot camps for
would-be cultivators and coastal bud-and-breakfasts," as the Contra
Costa Times put it.

Hold on. Nevada is the outlaw state. Sin starts here. We invented
divorce and made gambling a joyous national pastime. We have legal
prostitution in most counties. Think tax revenue. Who could resist an
Old West-style brothel, bud 'n' breakfast?

Well, I could resist, actually. But this isn't about personal freedom.
If I wanted to smoke pot, I would. I don't, so I don't. Having that
choice seems fair. But no one cares about fair.

This is about money-about saving our state by being the first sell-out
on the block.

The key is to convince our lawmakers to approve legalization
legislation in the coming session, well before California or
Massachusetts pass marijuana legalization in 2012. (That's when young
people will show up at the polls for Obama's reelection.)

Sure, Nevada's desert might not be the most optimal place for a
factory farm. But if we can grow Heart o' Golds in Fallon, we can
surely grow Acapulco gold. UNR researchers might develop strains of
potent marijuana that thrive in arid climates. Or we could import-from
northern Cali.

If Nevada legalized marijuana for recreational use-it's already legal
for prescribed medical use-we could stop wasting money arresting,
prosecuting and jailing offenders. Yes, Nevada still sends people to
jail for possessing and selling marijuana. Repeat offenders with less
than one ounce can face prison time. The National Institute of
Corrections shows Nevada's prison population at 12,743 inmates. We
spent about $20,641 per inmate in 2009.

Here's a benefit my journalism buddies might like-ads for legal
medical pot shops are boosting profits at newspapers in California.
Pick up a weekly paper anywhere in the state, and you'll find ads for
medical marijuana and hydroponic growing systems. Perhaps pot ads
could save the struggling Reno Gazette-Journal, lately reduced to a
daily newspamphlet.

Legalizing marijuana in Nevada, as we know from the past, is not going
to be easy. Pot prohibition is a tricky, stigmatized issue. California
news media editorialized against 19. Democrats weren't supportive, and
Tea Partiers were hostile. The East Bay Express described, based on
exit polls, the demographics of many "no" on Prop 19 voters:
"Republican conservatives who strongly identified with the Tea Party
. over 66, and out of work ... those who hadn't finished high school
voting 60-40 against."

More than a few Nevadans fit the above profile. That's why our new
governor and legislators will need to show some spunk. Brian
Sandoval's people should get on the phone with Phil Morris now so we
can start growing Nevada gold next summer.