NO ON Q9 = COMMON SENSE

BILLY ROGERS spent almost 1 1/2 hours visiting our editorial board to
promote his support of Question 9. Rogers, a Texan working out of
Washington, D.C., is running a very expensive campaign to legalize the use
of marijuana in the Silver State. The big dollars are being provided by
billionaire Peter Lewis, one of three wealthy people who have spent
millions to make pot legal.

A brief provided by law enforcement must be used to describe Lewis. He
refused an interview request by a Sun reporter. The brief tells us in part:
"Mr. Lewis, who spends much of his time in tropical climates aboard a
converted tugboat called the Lone Ranger, says his personal use of
marijuana has influenced his political activity. Last year, in New Zealand,
he was arrested for possession of hashish and marijuana. Authorities there
released him after he made a donation to a local drug-rehabilitation
center, he says. 'My personal experience lets me understand and have a view
of the relative effects of some of these substances,' he says."

Like most Nevadans, I have never met Lewis, but his proxy Rogers gave a
most forthcoming interview. He is a bright and smooth-talking young man who
says he hasn't smoked pot in 15 years. Rogers admits that Q 9 couldn't pass
in his home state but he believes Nevada is fertile ground for the seeds he
is planting.

He is one of many who believe that our state opened the door when reducing
the penalty for the use of marijuana. The Q 9 pushers also see our
legalizing the use of the drug for medical purposes as another invitation.
Of course, I doubt if most people who approved its use for medical
purposes, including me, foresaw that use as a step toward taking down other
legal barriers.

The Los Angeles Times quotes Rogers saying, " 'Nevada is the only state in
more than a decade to have passed decriminalization legislation.' " He
added, "We believe we already have a strong base of support in Nevada and
that the Legislature would give a good-faith effort to implement the
necessary laws." Does Rogers have reason to believe we are an easy mark?
Well, let's take some excerpts from other newspapers.

The Washington Post: "Nevada, land of blackjack and brothels, drive-through
weddings and quickie divorces, appears tempted to go to yet another
live-and-let-live extreme this fall and ease its drug laws in a way that
few other states have even contemplated much less put up for a public vote."

USA Today: "Las Vegas -- For 30 years the campaign to legalize marijuana in
America has gone nowhere. A few states have approved it for medical
purposes. A few have removed criminal penalties for possessing small
quantities. But no state has said, in effect, get high at your own risk."

I'm not cool but, along with fellow Nevadans, I don't like being treated as
a rube. Writers misinterpreting my vote for medical marijuana as a door
opener to turn our state into a carnival isn't appreciated. If you read the
last sentence of Q 9 that's exactly what could happen. It reads, "Any
statute or regulation inconsistent with this section is null and void after
January 1, 2005."

Few people, other than Chief Deputy D.A. Gary Booker and Sandy Heverly of
STOP DUI, have seen the blood and brains spread over our highways by
drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Heverly told me,
"Question 9 goes to the very core of STOP DUI's mission, which is to stop
the violent crime of driving under the influence and assisting the innocent
victims of that crime.

"If the marijuana initiative passes, more of this mind-altering drug would
be easily available and abused, resulting in more people driving impaired,
thus, creating more innocent DUI victims."

Another honest broker is outgoing Sheriff Jerry Keller who is against Q 9
because he doesn't "want to be responsible for the increase of criminal
activity that -- make no mistake about it -- will follow the passing of
this measure."

It was enjoyable to interview Rogers and he is a pleasant young man, but
past experience tells me that Keller, Booker and Heverly will be our
neighbors long after he goes on to promote marijuana in some other state.