POLLS SHOW SUPPORT FALLING FOR NEVADA'S LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

CARSON CITY (AP) - Support is fading for a proposal to make Nevada the first
state to legalize marijuana, according to a statewide poll by the Las Vegas
Review-Journal.

The survey found 55 percent of likely voters oppose Question 9 on the
November election ballot. Forty percent of respondents back the measure, and
5 percent are undecided.

The results are a dramatic shift from a similar poll in early July, when 44
percent of the respondents said they favored legal pot, while 46 percent
were opposed.

Passage this year and again in 2004 would change the state constitution and
allow adult Nevadans to legally possess 3 ounces or less of marijuana.

The telephone survey of 625 likely voters was conducted Monday and Tuesday
by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C. The results have
a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Support has waned because law enforcement leaders have begun to focus on the
issue, said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon.

Coker said he was not surprised at the numbers. "All it takes is a little
push from law enforcement and people back off," he said. "It certainly won't
pass."

Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick said he thinks "people are
now learning the truth."

"All the proponents want to do is legalize marijuana so they can smoke
dope," Gammick said. "Now that people realize their motivation, they are
making a rational decision about it."

Possession of 1 ounce or less or marijuana in Nevada is a misdemeanor
subject to a $600 fine for the first two offenses.

Gammick said pot supporters left the false impression that passage of
Question 9 was necessary to implement the state's medical marijuana program.

Two years ago, 65 percent of voters passed a constitutional amendment that
led to establishment of a state medical marijuana program.

Although Question 9 would require the state to provide low-cost marijuana to
medical marijuana recipients, its main focus would be setting up a system to
allow adults to possess small amounts of pot without reprisal. The ballot
question provides a vehicle for the state to tax and sell marijuana.

Gammick has said federal laws would prohibit the state from doing so, but
Billy Rogers, who leads the drive to make marijuana possession legal in the
state, has argued the nation's drug czar is already on record as saying he
won't step up enforcement of federal drug laws if the measure passes.

Rogers said his own polls show Nevadans remain split on the marijuana
question.

His group, Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, collected nearly
110,000 signatures on petitions from residents seeking to place Question 9
on the ballot.

Rogers said the latest poll shows his organization must do a better job of
explaining the issue to voters. The group has raised $525,000 in
contributions and intends to launch a fall campaign, including TV spots, to
explain the question.

In particular, he said the group must emphasize that passage of the question
only would allow adults to possess marijuana in the privacy of their homes,
not in public places or while driving. Use of the drug by minors also would
remain illegal.

"If that is what voters are hearing on election day, we will win the
election," Rogers said. "We have to let them know exactly what is in the
initiative."

Rogers' organization has maintained the public will be better served if
police concentrate on more serious crimes than wasting time arresting and
booking people for small amounts of marijuana.