VALLEY OF FIRE

The Drug War or Nevada's Supreme Court - it's tough to conclude which
is more out of control.

Since last July, our justices have disregarded the two-thirds
requirement to increase taxes, denied overly harassed petitioners a
filing extension and ruled it fine for Harrah's to fire a female
bartender for not wearing make-up.

Now there's Jessica Williams.

Williams killed six teenagers in March 2000 on her drive from the
Valley of Fire. She fell asleep behind the wheel, striking the
juveniles who were gathering garbage on an I-15 median. Six counts of
involuntary manslaughter warrants about seven years of prison, granted
good behavior.

But Williams had traces of marijuana in her blood. So, enter the
ridiculous Drug War.

Williams instead received 18 to 48 years in prison thanks to a measure
Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nev.) fought for when state senator. Porter pushed
the drugged driving law that makes it illegal to operate a vehicle
with even the most minute trace of a controlled substance in the
bloodstream. The law applies even if the person driving is not impaired.

The jury acquitted Williams of driving under the influence. Nurses and
other medical professionals even testified her motor skills weren't
compromised. But she had traces of marijuana in her bloodstream, which
violated Porter's practically zero-tolerance measure. A person's blood
can't have more than two nanograms of an illegal substance. That's two
billionths of a gram.

However, Williams' attorney, John Watkins, discovered a technical flaw
in the unfair drugged driving measure. It does not list marijuana
metabolite as a prohibited substance.

So Watkins argued that Williams was wrongly convicted. But the Nevada
Supreme Court on July 22 figured marijuana metabolite was supposed to
be in the law, therefore denied Williams' appeal. The case is on its
way to U.S. District Court.

There are several problems, but four in particular.

First, Porter's law doesn't consider some drugs can be detected in the
bloodstream days after their use. THC, the main component of
marijuana, can stay in the blood eight days or more - well after the
intoxicating effects wear off.

Second, Williams was wrongly convicted of a terrible law with a
technical problem. She can't be guilty of having more than two
nanograms of marijuana metabolite in her blood if having that
substance in her blood is not illegal.

Third, when having a controlled substance in her blood is a more
serious offense than involuntary murder, something is wrong. Williams
would have spent six or seven years in jail for mauling over six kids,
but because she smoked pot at some point leading up to the accident,
she faces up to 48 years.

Finally, the Nevada Supreme Court has disregarded the Nevada
Constitution and petitioner rights. They've OKed sexual discrimination
and now decided it's fine to add words to a law that should have been
in tact, but weren't. Their actions leave Nevadans on a road much more
dangerous than the one Williams drove from the Valley of Fire.