PRO-POT FORCES HAVE EYE ON COURT RULING

You know the pro-pot forces are serious when they start busting out the
Latin legal stuff.

That's what the Marijuana Policy Project did last week when it filed a writ
of mandamus with the Nevada Supreme Court in its ongoing battle to uncover
federal drug czar John Walter's campaign expense reports.

In plain English: The MPP wants the court to apply a little pressure in the
case. Ever since Walters made a stop in the state in 2002 to lobby against
a failed ballot initiative that would have decriminalized possession of
small amounts of pot, the MPP has charged that Walters was campaigning--and
thus should follow state law and file an expense report.

Since then, the MPP has been nipping at the drug czar's heels.

It pressured Secretary of State Dean Heller to go after him; Heller asked
the attorney general for an opinion.

The AG ended up agreeing with the drug czar's attorney that he's immune
from Nevada election law. Now the MPP hopes the Supreme Court will compel
Heller to make Walters file an expense report.

"We expect to hear from the Supreme Court in June," says MPP spokesman
Bruce Mirken. "If we win, they'll issue a writ essentially telling the
secretary of state to enforce Nevada's campaign finance laws." And if
Walters still refuses?

There could be a fine, Mirken says. It's just one more front to the MPP's
ongoing work; earlier this year it started a new petition to let voters
decide whether to legalize possession of up to one ounce of pot. But
Walters is still in their sights. "Nothing we are doing says he can't
campaign, that he can't express his views," Mirken says. "But we do think
all the cards should be on the table. If someone comes in and tries to
influence an election, people have a right to know what he's doing and what
he's spending to do it."