BALLOT QUESTION 9: MARIJUANA SUPPORT FALLS IN POLL

Survey: 55 Percent Reject Legalization Of Small Amounts Of Pot

CARSON CITY -- As attention has focused nationwide on a provocative
proposal to make Nevada the first state with legal marijuana, a new poll
shows support for the idea is fading.

The survey, commissioned by the Review-Journal and reviewjournal.com, found
55 percent of likely voters oppose Question 9 on the November election
ballot. Passage then and again in 2004 would change the state constitution
and allow adult Nevadans to possess 3 ounces or less of marijuana without
fear of arrest.

Forty percent of the respondents back Question 9, 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. A Reno Gazette-Journal poll conducted soon after
found voters evenly split for and against at 48 percent.

The survey of 625 likely voters was conducted by telephone on 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 contended pot supporters have left the false impression that
passage of Question 9 was necessary to implement the state's medical
marijuana program.

Sixty-five percent of voters two years ago passed a constitutional
amendment that led to establishment of a state medical marijuana program.

The medical marijuana issue coincidentally also was listed as Question 9 on
election ballots. About 200 people now have permission to grow as many as
seven marijuana plants for medical reasons.

Although the new 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, the man behind 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.

"I see it dead even right now," Rogers said.

Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement collected almost 110,000
signatures on petitions from residents who wanted to place Question 9 on
the ballot.

Rogers said the latest poll is a sign his organization must do a better job
of explaining the issue to voters. The organization 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 contended opponents have been misinforming voters on what his
organization really wants.

"You would think from what they say if Question 9 is passed, the next thing
we will do in Nevada is legalize gaming and prostitution," he said.

His 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.

According to FBI statistics, marijuana arrests climbed to almost 750,000 in
2000, more than double the 300,000 arrests in 1991.

In Nevada, the number of people arrested for marijuana possession in 1999
was 5,406, up from 2,076 in 1995.

But Las Vegas police Undersheriff Richard Winget said earlier this month
that police this year have booked only about 50 cases in which a small
amount of pot was involved. Drug charges usually are secondary to other
crimes, he said.