DRUG CZAR ESCAPES PROSECUTION FOR ELECTION LAW VIOLATIONS IN NEVADA

The state of Nevada will not attempt to prosecute Office of National
Drug Control Policy (http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov) head John
Walters -- the drug czar -- for violating the state's campaign finance
reporting requirements, the Secretary of State's office announced on
April 23. The ruling came on a complaint filed earlier this year by
the Marijuana Policy Project (http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar/) after
the drug czar made three trips to the state to campaign against an
MPP-sponsored initiative that would have legalized the possession of
up to three ounces of marijuana for adults. That initiative failed
last November, MPP argued, in part because of Walters' efforts.

MPP argued that Walters was actively campaigning in an election, and
under Nevada law he should have filed campaign finance reports.

But Walters claimed immunity from state prosecution because he was
doing his job as a federal official, and an opinion from the Nevada
Attorney General's office backed that position.

That opinion cited a 103-year-old Supreme Court ruling that federal
officials carrying out official functions are immune from prosecution
under state law. "There is nothing we can do," Chief Deputy Secretary
of State Renee Parker said as she announced the decision. "Our own
attorneys are telling us we will lose."

The drug czar's office praised the ruling as just common sense.
"Director Walters was simply doing his job, to educate people about
the dangers of illegal drugs, said ONDCP spokesman Rafael Lemaitre.

The Attorney General's office may have decided that Walters would
likely win any case against him, but that does not mean Nevada
officials appreciated his efforts.

In the opinion he delivered two days earlier to Secretary of State
Dean Heller, Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval bluntly criticized
Walters' heavy-handed effort to influence voters: "It is unfortunate
that a representative of the federal government substantially
intervened in a matter that was clearly a State of Nevada issue.

The excessive federal intervention that was exhibited in this instance
is particularly disturbing because it sought to influence the outcome
of a Nevada election."

If Nevada officialdom was not too pleased with the drug czar, MPP was
pleased with neither. "The Attorney General's opinion was not based on
controlling precedent," said MPP director of government relations
Steve Fox. "While the Attorney General cited an 1890 US Supreme Court
decision about a crime committed by a federal employee, a Supreme
Court case 81 years later laid out the law with respect to state
regulation of federal employees. The court held these regulations to
be valid if they did not 'frustrate the full effectiveness of federal
law.' Requiring the drug czar to file campaign finance forms does not
frustrate his purpose; he is free to campaign to his heart's content.

Asking the drug czar to file campaign finance reports after
campaigning in the state is no different than requiring US Postal
Service employees to obey state and local traffic laws while
delivering mail."

Walters should still be prosecuted, Fox said. "While Secretary of
State Heller asked for this opinion from the attorney general, he is
not bound to follow its erroneous legal conclusion. We trust he will
act to enforce Nevada law."