NEVADA RESIDENTS TO VOTE ON LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

LAS VEGAS - The state that legalized cathouses and craps is now considering
condoning cannabis.

A voters initiative on the November ballot would permit possession in
Nevada of up to 3 ounces of marijuana by persons 21 and older. They would
be allowed to smoke it in the privacy of their own homes, but not in their
car or public places.

While law enforcement officials are railing against the measure, state
officials are quietly pondering how the state-licensed sale and taxation of
marijuana may stoke the state's coffers by tens of millions of dollars
annually.

Legalizing marijuana by amending the state Constitution is a two-step
process. If a simple majority of voters approve the measure in November, it
would need to be reaffirmed by voters in 2004. The second vote could be
avoided if the measure is adopted next year by the State Legislature, which
already has decriminalized possession of marijuana. That course is
considered unlikely because most politicians - including Republican Gov.
Kenny Guinn - are not taking a stand on the issue, saying they will defer
to the voters' wishes.

Nevada is one of nine states that allows the use of marijuana with a
doctor's prescription, and one of 11 states that has lowered criminal
sanctions for possession of marijuana.

Ohio has the nation's most lenient marijuana possession laws, issuing a
civil citation and fining $100 for possession of up to 100 grams (about 3.5
ounces) of marijuana, according to the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws.

State polls suggest Nevada voters are about evenly split on the question.
The state's largest newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, has
editorialized that said the measure "would end the needless harassment of
individuals who peacefully and privately use marijuana."