YOUNG NEVADANS USING MARIJUANA

Report: State's Rate Among Highest In Nation

WASHINGTON -- First-time marijuana use among Nevada youths ages 12 to 17 is
among the highest in the nation, according to a federal report released
this week.

Nevada tied with Hawaii for seventh among the 50 states, with 7.63 percent
of its adolescents trying marijuana for the first time in 1999 and 2000,
the report said.

Based on national household surveys on drug abuse, the report was released
Wednesday in Miami by John Walters, head of the U.S. Office of National
Drug Control Policy.

During a visit to Las Vegas in July, Walters, also known as the U.S. drug
czar, expressed opposition to a Nov. 5 ballot initiative that would
legalize the possession of 3 ounces or less of marijuana in Nevada.

"Let me be clear, the director opposes any effort to legalize marijuana,
but this report was not intended to influence the election in Nevada. This
is an annual report," said Jennifer de Vallance, a spokeswoman for Walters.

Billy Rogers, a spokesman for Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement
which is sponsoring the ballot initiative to legalize marijuana possession,
said the report will have "zero impact" on the Nov. 5 election.

"Nevadans know there's a big difference between marijuana and hard drugs,"
said Rogers. "I don't think most Nevadans have a problem allowing
responsible adults to possess small amounts of marijuana in the privacy of
their own homes."

Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell disagreed, saying the report
will undermine claims that marijuana use is not harmful.

"This report suggests some percentage of people start with marijuana and
move on through the process (to harder drugs) and oftentimes into crime,"
Bell said. "If we can prevent young people from experimenting with illegal
drugs, we are going to have some success in reducing addiction and crime."

The report showed 18 percent of people who are at least 26 are drug or
alcohol dependent if they began using marijuana before they turned 15. Only
2.1 percent of adults who had never tried marijuana suffered substance
abuse problems, the report said.

Rogers disputed the report's data, saying 11 million Americans use
marijuana but only 1.5 million use cocaine and only 130,000 use heroin.

"In the two years cited in the report, Nevada had the most severe laws in
the country against marijuana possession. You could be charged with a
felony If you were caught with just a marijuana cigarette," Rose said. "I
think what the study shows is the strictest laws against marijuana in the
country couldn't stop Nevada children from obtaining marijuana."

Bell argued that marijuana possession in Nevada is rarely prosecuted as a
felony.

"In reality, it is treated like a misdemeanor and that is the way it should
be," Bell said. "There is no question that if marijuana possession is made
lawful that more people will use it."

Besides Walters, Drug Enforcement Administration Director Asa Hutchinson
also has visited Nevada in recent months and voiced opposition to the
ballot initiative to legalize marijuana possession. Calls to Hutchinson's
office on Friday were not returned.

Bell said he is not working with the Bush administration to defeat
marijuana legalization in Nevada.

Massachusetts was the leading state for first-time marijuana use for youths
12 to 17, with 8.75 percent, according to the report. Other states ahead of
Nevada included Delaware, 8.32 percent; Vermont, 8.30 percent; Arizona,
8.16 percent; Colorado, 7.68 percent; and New Mexico, 7.66 percent.