WEED THE PEOPLE

Long enamored of tobacco, Nevada youth are becoming fond of another puffable
plant product - weed. The No. 1 smokers in the nation - 33 percent of Nevada
high-schoolers used tobacco products last year - our kids can also toke with
the best of them, ranking seventh in an Office of National Drug Control
Policy report of first-time users, ages 12 to 17.

Gathered in a high-school parking lot, several teen cannabis connoisseurs
expressed little surprise at pot's popularity. Asserting that it is neither
addictive and nor the cause of drug-addled deviancy, they say weed is an
affordable and available alternative to cigarettes and alcohol.

"Weed is like food," says one teen, chuckling. "Plus it's easy to get."

Nearly 40 percent of teens in a poll from the National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse said they could buy marijuana in a few hours; 27 percent
in an hour or less. On the first day of school, it took one student 15
minutes.

Another bonus, say the teens, are the profits from peddling pot. No one in
this ethnically diverse group admitted to selling, but say they know those
who do. Those street pharmacists make hundreds of dollars daily. Should
voters and the Legislature decriminalize possession of up to three ounces of
weed, they expect profits to soar.

"Three ounces is a lotta herb," piped one minor, noting that there was money
to be made on "nickel bags," referring to thumb-size $5 sacks of pot
weighing less than an ounce.

Meanwhile, debate continues over relaxing possession laws. Reformists says
minors will understand that buying, selling and smoking marijuana is
illegal. Opponents such as Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell fear
an increase in addiction and crime.

Citing a National Academy Press study, Bruce Mirken, who works with the
Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., says there's no conclusive
link between the severity of sanctions and drug use. "It's yet another twig
on the growing pile of data that shows that stricter penalties don't stop
kids from using marijuana," he says.