DRUG CZAR WON'T RESPOND TO NEVADA CAMPAIGN LAW COMPLAINT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - The national drug czar has declined to respond to
complaints that the he broke Nevada law by not filing reports on money
spent opposing November's marijuana ballot initiative.

The Marijuana Policy Project, which backed the defeated initiative to allow
possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana, said drug czar John Walters
failed to submit his campaign finance report.

Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller asked Walters for a response earlier
this month.

But the Office of National Drug Control Policy said in a letter received
Tuesday by Heller that Walters is immune from enforcement of Nevada's
election laws.

The letter from office general counsel Edward Jurith said Walters was
immune because he was a "federal official acting within the scope of
duties, including speaking out about the dangers of illegal drugs."

Heller said he would review the response and may seek the opinion of state
Attorney General Brian Sandoval.

Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project said Walters' response
indicates "he has moved from simply ignoring the law to actively defying it."

Mirken said past U.S. Supreme Court decisions found that the key test of
immunity is whether state or local regulation "intrudes or interferes" with
the federal government activities.

"The claim that he was just doing his job is obvious nonsense," Mirken
said. "He was explicitly campaigning against Question 9."