LEGAL MARIJUANA CAMPAIGN RESTARTS

Backers Say Proposal Answers Skepticism of Earlier Measure

An initiative petition seeking to legalize possession of up to 1 ounce
of marijuana will be filed with the secretary of state's office today
despite a similar measure's sound defeat on the ballot in 2002.

The Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, established in Nevada
this year by the national Marijuana Policy Project, will attempt to
make Nevada the first state in the nation to legalize possession of
marijuana.

"We have a much more directed petition than the one two years ago,"
committee spokeswoman Jennifer Knight said. "I did not vote for this
two years ago because I was concerned about it, but this alleviates my
concerns."

The initiative first must qualify for the ballot by collecting the
signatures of 51,244 registered voters by June 15. The petition also
must represent at least 10 percent of the voters in 13 of Nevada's 17
counties to qualify.

The 2002 campaign, called Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement,
qualified a petition with 110,000 signatures seeking to legalize
possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana. The proponents tried to tie
the issue to the medical use of marijuana, which is legal in Nevada,
by alleging patients could not obtain the drug because of the state's
stringent laws and the inability to purchase plants from the state.

But a coalition of law enforcement and citizens groups, bolstered by
independent advertising from the Office of National Drug Control
Policy and reports of the death of a local journalist, successfully
blocked its passage, with 61 percent voting no and only 39 percent in
support. Marijuana foes vowed to win again this year.

"It's a public safety issue, whether it's 3 ounces or 1 ounce," said
Sandy Heverly, executive director of Stop DUI. "We do not need to
legalize another drug that impairs."

The new petition, called the Regulation of Marijuana Amendment, also
would increase penalties for vehicular manslaughter and delivery of
marijuana to a minor.

The petition would impose penalties of up to 10 years in prison for
first-time offenders and life in prison for second-time offenders
convicted of delivering marijuana to a minor. It also would impose a
minimum penalty of five years to life in prison for anyone convicted
of vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol
or any controlled substance.

That portion of the initiative is designed to blunt criticism that is
believed responsible for felling the 2002 initiative.

In August 2002, Las Vegas Sun Vice President Sandy Thompson was killed
in an accident caused by a driver under the influence of marijuana.
After the incident, Thompson's family came out in opposition to the
initiative and focused attention on a number of similar accidents
involving marijuana.

Heverly said her coalition, Nevadans Against Legalizing Marijuana,
will meet Feb. 26 to come up with a strategy to defeat the new
initiative. She said she is hopeful John Walters, the federal drug
czar, will again visit the state in opposition to the initiative.

If the initiative qualifies for the November ballot and passes, it
would have to pass again in 2006 to become part of the
constitution.

The Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington, D.C., poured about
$2 million into the 2002 campaign.

The project has provided $150,000 to the local committee for this
effort, and the project's foundation has been running a television ad
for several weeks. That ad states that 67 percent of Nevada high
school seniors have tried marijuana compared to 28 percent of those in
the Netherlands, where the drug is legal.

Knight said the new initiative would keep drugs out of the hands of
dealers and into a state-regulated system.

"It's easier for my son to get marijuana right now than if he went to
the store to try to get tobacco," Knight said, referring to her
11-year-old son.

The county's top cops aren't buying the argument.

"Legalization of drugs is not beneficial to the youth of our state,"
said District Attorney David Roger, who as a candidate in 2002 opposed
the first initiative.

Sheriff Bill Young, who personally donated to the coalition opposing
the initiative in 2002, said his position hasn't changed.

"We've got enough intoxicants out there already," Young said. "It
certainly will put more of our young people at risk. It's just more
drugs, more people stoned, and more people driving around under the
influence."

In 2002, the effort to legalize marijuana in Nevada garnered national
attention, including a cover story in Time magazine. In addition to
the Nevada initiative, the Marijuana Policy Project also is backing
medical marijuana initiatives in Arkansas and Montana this year.

Andy Anderson, former president of the Nevada Conference of Police and
Sheriffs, worked on the 2002 initiative and will serve as chairman of
this year's effort. The Southwest Group, a political consulting firm
founded by Billy Rogers, will provide guidance and office space to the
campaign.

Rogers headed the initiative in 2002.