NEVADA'S MARIJUANA MEASURE GETS $1.275 MILLION IN DONATIONS

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A Washington, D.C.-based organization has poured
$1.28 million into a campaign to legalize possession of up to 3 ounces of
marijuana in Nevada, far outspending opponents of the ballot question.

Three major Nevada casino-hotel corporations provided most of the funding
for opponents of Question 9, on Tuesday's ballot as a proposed
constitutional amendment.

The latest report from Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, pushing
Question 9, showed virtually all its funding came from the Marijuana Policy
Project in Washington, D.C.

Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement also reported spending $1.1 million.

The Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable, which is trying to defeat the
marijuana petition, reported getting $143,800 in contributions in the
August-October quarter - half of that from the Venetian megaresort on the
Las Vegas Strip.

Other big contributors included casino-owning Park Place Entertainment and
Boyd Gaming, for $25,000 apiece; and Sunbelt Communications, which
contributed $10,000.

The Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable spent $128,265. Of the expenses,
$107,000 went to FFG Advertising and $20,000 went to Rogich Communications
for consulting.

A group called Nevadans Against Legalized Marijuana collected $6,325 and
spent $6,225. The major contributor to this group was Stop DUI, which gave
more than $5,000.

The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, which is supporting a ban on
gay marriages in Nevada, reported it collected $351,468 since the primary
election in September. At that point it had a balance of $523,231. In its
latest report, the coalition said it spent $730,231 since the primary.

The figures were in campaign finance reports filed this week with the
Nevada Secretary of State's office.

State Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, the Democratic candidate for
governor, reported he collected $24,396 in his campaign and has spent $20,362.

Neal's campaign report shows he received $1,000 from the Nevada Senate
Democrats, $2,000 from Sen. Harry Reid's Searchlight Leadership Fund and
$1,000 from state Sen. Bob Coffin of Las Vegas.

Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny, Democratic candidate for lieutenant
governor, collected $376,568 since the primary election. She had a balance
before the primary election of $400,804. She reported her expenses since
the primary at $729,505.

Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt reported receiving $270,515 since the last report
filed shortly before the primary election. She said she had $53,699 left at
that time. She spent $315,820 since late August on her campaign.

Assemblyman John Lee, D-Las Vegas, running for state controller, said he
collected $59,876 during this reporting period that should be added to a
balance of $45,965 he had shortly before the primary election. Lee reported
he spent $46,576 and has $49,264 left