CARTELLING THE TRUTH

Clark County Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker claims he never said drug
cartels are funding Question 9, the ballot initiative that would amend the
Constitution to legalize possession of up to three ounces of marijuana.

But he did.

Booker is on tape using the word before the state Board of Health,
referring to a speech made by state Sen. Joe Neal, the North Las Vegas
Democrat who is running for governor. Neal, in turn, read about the cartel
allegation in an issue of Executive Intelligence Review, a publication put
out by perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche.

LaRouche, an ex-felon, claims that financier George Soros is connected to
South American drug cartels. Then again, LaRouche also claims the Queen of
England is connected to the global drug trade.

"LaRouche noted that Soros has been the main source of funding for the
entire drug legalization drive -- in the United States and around the
world," reads a Sept. 20 article in Executive Intelligence Review. "How can
the United States expect to press Colombia and Peru to crack down on the
drug cartels, when the same cartels are now attempting to establish a
beachhead inside the United States, LaRouche demanded to know."

Neal says he called the Review's editors, who stood by their story. And he
says he believes it, too, which is why he put it in his anti-Question 9 speech.

And Booker, who has something of a history of exaggerations when it comes
to Question 9, stood by his story, too. He says he never claimed the cartel
was behind Question 9.

But he did. (Booker didn't return a second phone call placed to inquire
about the tape of the meeting.)

Defeating Question 9 has become something of a cause celebre in the law
enforcement community. Metro Deputy Chief Bill Young, a candidate for
sheriff, said passing Question 9 will lead to "nothing but a continuous
24-7 Grateful Dead concert here." Incumbent Sheriff Jerry Keller said it
would lead to a "public safety nightmare." Stop DUI chief Sandy Heverly
compared anti-Question 9 citizens to David fighting the giant Goliath.

Fair enough. They're cops and citizens, too, and they have the right to let
the public know their views.

But to suggest, as the Executive Intelligence Review, Neal and Booker did,
that drug cartels are behind Question 9, is ridiculous. Drug cartels are
the biggest fans prohibition ever had, since prohibition makes the product
scarce and therefore valuable. Legalize it, even by selling the drug at
state-sponsored stores, and the bottom falls from the market. That means
anyone who supports continued prohibition is on the side of the cartels.

"Gary Booker has a long history of making things up in this campaign," says
Billy Rogers, the campaign manager for Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement. "When they make a claim, either they don't cite a source, or
they cite a nutcase like Lyndon LaRouche."

Among the dueling charges: Booker says the law -- which will prohibit
"dangerous driving" and repeal all contrary laws, should it be approved by
voters twice -- will gut anti-drug driving laws currently on the books. The
pro-Question 9 team counters that it has a legal opinion from lawyer JoNell
Thomas that says otherwise.

Booker says that 3 ounces of marijuana -- chosen by Nevadans for
Responsible Law Enforcement since that's what several other states allow
medical marijuana users to possess -- could make more than 250 marijuana
cigarettes. But Roger says four packs of cigarettes (at 20 per pack, or 80
total) weighs in at three ounces.

And Booker said that medical marijuana patients could get their stash from
the state -- an early plan considered by the Legislature that was never
adopted. This he now admits was a mistake. "I put my foot in my mouth," he
says.

Rogers denies that Question 9 is the first step toward outright
legalization of marijuana, or of drugs in general, although he does admit
that younger people are more amenable to the idea. "It's inevitable that
this (legalization of small amounts of marijuana) is going to happen," he
says. "I don't ever think you're going to see outright legalization."

Let's hope he's wrong. Booker claims that 30 percent of the fatal crashes
prosecuted by his office involve marijuana, either alone or in combination
with other drugs. Assuming he's accurate, it's clear that prohibition isn't
working. A legalized, regulated market that cuts the profits from cartels
could hardly be worse. Of course, laws against the use by minors, driving
under the influence or public intoxication would still apply, as they do
now to liquor.

But cartels funding Question 9? No one should be able to say that with a
straight face. Gary Booker says he didn't.

But he did.