DRUG CZAR SAYS STATE FACES LIABILITY

Marijuana Initiative Would Put Nevada at Risk, Federal Official Says

The nation's drug czar today said Nevada could face liability problems if
it tries to provide marijuana to those who need it medically, a key
component of Question 9.

John Walters, chief of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, was in
Las Vegas today to campaign against the ballot initiative that would
legalize possession of up to 3 ounces of the drug.

"There is no way to create a legal state-run system to supply it," Walters
told the Las Vegas Sun editorial board today. "To knowingly produce a
dangerous substance, the state could assume enormous liability costs."

Walters, making his second visit to Nevada this year, equated the liability
to that of tobacco companies, which have had to make large settlements with
states over the health effects associated with smoking.

States sued the tobacco companies to recover costs incurred by state health
programs in treating smoking-related illnesses. As well, there have been a
number of big jury awards given to people who have sued tobacco companies.

Walters noted growing marijuana is still against federal law and said the
state also could face the liability of producing a dangerous product.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, the author of the medical
marijuana bill that was passed into law at the 2001 Legislature, disagreed
this morning, saying her studies have found no evidence of a state being
successfully sued for producing marijuana.

"There would be no liability for the state," she said. "Our Department of
Agriculture has seed labs and could produce and control marijuana seed.
They also could use a tagging agent to distinguish state-produced marijuana
from the trafficked drug, and that would help law enforcement."

Walters also argued that the real purpose of Question 9 is to make
marijuana more available to be smoked for non-medical reasons, and he said
making pot "more widely available means (the potential for) more use."

Giunchigliani said the measure would not encourage more use of pot but
would simply "recognize that people smoke marijuana and recognize that
otherwise responsible adults should not be made criminals because of it.

"It also recognizes that national drug policies are not working."

Nationwide, Walters said, there are 6 million people with drug abuse
problems, 60 percent of whom are dependent on marijuana. He said 23 percent
of the drug abusers are teens.

Giunchigliani said in Nevada teen use of marijuana is third behind alcohol,
with methamphetamines a distant second.

Question 9 would have to be approved by voters on Nov. 5 and again in 2004
to become law.

Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the group backing the ballot
initiative, says the measure would allow critically ill patients to more
easily obtain marijuana without paying high prices. It also would impose
penalties on anyone caught smoking pot in public or selling marijuana to
minors.

Opponents say marijuana is a potent and addictive drug that can lead to
high-risk behavior and more dangerous drugs.