FEDERAL DRUG CZAR COMING TO NEVADA

The federal director of National Drug Control Policy will visit Reno this
week to push for voter rejection of a Nevada ballot question legalizing
marijuana.

John P. Walters, President Bush's drug czar, has a series of meetings
scheduled with state and local law enforcement, prevention and treatment
advocates and public officials Thursday and Friday.

According to his aides, he will "discuss the dangers of marijuana use and
the threats posed by initiatives seeking to legalize or decriminalize
marijuana."

Walters already has visited Southern Nevada this year.

Aides said Walters will discuss the importance of drug treatment and the
myth that marijuana is harmless. Walters has said marijuana poses a serious
threat to society.

Federal drug enforcement officials are trying along with some Nevada
prosecutors to drum up voter opposition to ballot Question 9. That question
asks voters to legalize the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana
by individuals 21 and older. It comes two years after voters approved
legalizing marijuana for medical purposes in Nevada.

But prosecutors led by Washoe County District Attorney Dick Gammick and
Clark County Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker say marijuana has been
developed into a much more potent drug than it was 20 or more years ago and
is now responsible not only for addiction by psychotic behavior in heavy
users. They argue it would greatly increase the willingness of juveniles to
use the drug and increase the societal problems resulting from heavy use by
adults.

Booker and drug treatment advocates testified before the state Health Board
on Friday that marijuana is the key gateway drug that gets juveniles started
on the road to heroin, cocaine and other major drug addictions.

Question 9 would legalize the possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana by
an adult in Nevada. Supporters of the question, who raised more than 70,000
signatures to put it on the ballot, say most Nevadans and adult U.S.
residents do not regard marijuana as any more dangerous than alcohol. They
say it's time police stopped wasting their time chasing small time pot users
and concentrate on major dealers of dangerous drugs like methamphetamine.