DRUG CZAR'S VISIT PROMPTS RALLIES FOR, AGAINST QUESTION 9

Walters speaks against ballot measure to legalize small amounts of pot

The nation's drug czar visited Las Vegas to again denounce marijuana
decriminalization, inspiring the latest round of dual pep rallies for
Question 9 opponents and proponents.

John Walters, who oversees all federal anti-drug programs and spending, said
he did not come to the valley to wave his finger at Nevadans over the
high-stakes ballot initiative. But the country's director of drug control
policy encouraged Nevada voters to view marijuana -- often depicted as
relatively benign by hemp advocates -- as a gateway drug that can destroy
lives and lead pot smokers to use harder drugs.

Half of the nation's nearly 16 million illicit drug users get high only on
marijuana, making it the most abused drug in the United States, according to
statistics offered by Walters' agency.

"We as adults have a responsibility to do better for our children," Walters
told an appreciative crowd of local politicians, police and Question 9
opponents at the WestCare shelter and drug treatment center in downtown Las
Vegas. "(Marijuana) causes many other harms. ... No community is better off
with more drugs."

It was Walters' second visit to Las Vegas in the past three months to speak
out against the proposal to relax Nevada marijuana laws.

If Nevada voters pass Question 9 in November and again in two years, people
21 and older will be able to legally possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana in
their home, but not in vehicles or public places. Use of the drug by minors
would remain illegal, as would driving under the influence of marijuana. The
drug would be sold in state-licensed smoke shops and taxed.

Currently, possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana in Nevada is a
misdemeanor subject to a $600 fine for the first two offenses.

A hostile crowd greeted Walters earlier Thursday when he went to a Las Vegas
television studios to tape an interview. A group of about 50 Question 9
supporters gathered outside the KLAS-TV, Channel 8 studio to confront
Walters. They held signs reading "Vote Yes Question 9" and chanted "Drug
Czar Go Back to D.C."

Among them was Nevada Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, a paid consultant
for the group backing the ballot measure.

"The drug czar doesn't seem to understand that in the privacy of a home or
under the care of a doctor, we have the right to use marijuana,"
Giunchigliani told the crowd, which responded with a roar of approval.

Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, chided the federal government for intervening in
a state issue, especially under the guise that the move was in the interest
of public safety.

"If they cared so much about the safety of Nevadans, then why in the heck
did they give us the dump?" the legislator asked, referring to the permanent
high-level nuclear waste repository planned for Yucca Mountain, 100 miles
northwest of Las Vegas.

Giunchigliani made her comments after leaving the studio, where both she and
Walters taped separate appearances on political commentator Jon Ralston's
television show.

Giunchigliani told the crowd outside that Walters had just refused an
invitation to debate her on the issue. Several hours later, Walters
spokesman Thomas Riley said Walters never received such an invitation.

Walters said he is willing to debate only three people about the country's
marijuana laws: New York financier George Soros, Cleveland insurance
executive Peter Lewis and John Sperling of Arizona, founder of the
for-profit University of Phoenix.

Walters chose the wealthy trio, he said, because they have been the biggest
funders of drug legalization efforts in the United States. The three men
have formed an umbrella group that has funded marijuana initiatives in
several states, including the medical marijuana initiative that voters
passed in Nevada in 1998 and 2000.

"Anyplace, anytime -- I will be happy to debate them on this issue," Walters
said at WestCare. "Let's stop hiding. I'm here. Where are they?"

Sandy Heverly, executive director of STOP DUI, directed her ire at Lewis,
chief executive officer of Progressive, the nation's fourth-largest auto
insurer.

She frequently has said that passage of Question 9 would create a dangerous
environment on Nevada's roadways by increasing the number of motorists
driving under the influence of drugs.

She called on Nevadans to boycott Progressive.

"Let this company know that we do not want to do business with a company
that has no regard for the health and safety of our loved ones," she said.

Neither Soros nor Sperling has contributed to the marijuana
decriminalization effort in Nevada, said Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement spokesman Billy Rogers.

But Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance in New
York, which favors legalizing marijuana, said he challenged Walters to a
televised debate on the cable network CNN last Sunday. Nadelmann said the
nation's drug czar declined.

"Walters is chickening out of any debate," Nadelmann said. "John Walters is
too scared and too cowardly to debate anyone on this issue."

Walters, meanwhile, said Question 9 proponents are out-of-staters who have
been lying when they say marijuana is relatively harmless. He said that if
marijuana is decriminalized in Nevada, it would create an avalanche of
demand for new drug treatment programs that could not be met by the state.

Walters made this promise to the Question 9 opponents who have turned to him
for help: "We will stand with you. My office intends to challenge this
ballot initiative here and in every state where this occurs."