GROUPS FILE LAWSUIT FOR INITIATIVES

CARSON CITY - A lawsuit challenging the disqualification of
initiative petitions to legalize the use of marijuana and to limit
smoking in public places was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the
Marijuana Policy Project, seeks to force Secretary of State Dean
Heller to forward the initiative petitions to the Legislature.

Heller rejected the petitions in December and cited an attorney
general's opinion that the groups circulating the measures did not
collect enough valid signatures. He rejected two measures to regulate
smoking and the marijuana measure.

"We followed all the state's rules from day one," said Neal Levine,
director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. "Then,
without warning, they changed the rules after we turned in the
petition. They have violated our right to due process, and we fully
expect to win in federal court."

Gary Peck, ACLU executive director for Nevada, said, "To disqualify
these petitions is wrong constitutionally and defies common sense. The
decision disenfranchises tens of thousands of voters, deprives the
petitioners of their due process and First Amendment rights and
undermines public confidence in the initiative process and in
government generally."

The decision by Heller not to submit the petitions to the Legislature
is being challenged in state court also.

Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox will decide in a Feb. 7 hearing
how many signatures the petitions need to qualify.

The three groups acted on advice from Heller's office and voting
registrars that they needed 51,337 signatures to qualify. Each
petition exceeded that total, which was based on the 2002 voter turnout.

But the petitions were turned in after the 2004 general election, and
the attorney general's opinion said a higher number, 83,156
signatures, was required based on the more recent voter turnout.