COPS GROUP YANKS ENDORSEMENT FOR LEGAL MARIJUANA

By JANE ANN MORRISON -- Las Vegas Review Journal

A Nevada police organization responded to a three-day outcry against its
support of a ballot question that would relax marijuana possession laws by
yanking its endorsement Friday.

Andy Anderson, the leading advocate of the endorsement, then resigned as
president of the Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs, saying he didn't
want to harm the credibility or integrity of the organization he helped
found 23 years ago.

"I don't want NCOPS' endorsements watered down," he said. "The bottom line
is, I care for this organization."

The controversy created by the support for Question 9 would have had a
spillover effect into the group's highly sought candidate endorsements,
Anderson said.

But he insisted there is a silent majority, even within police, who believe
that arresting people in possession of small amounts of marijuana is a
waste of resources and detracts from more important crimes.

After a formal board vote, NCOPS now opposes Question 9, which will ask
voters in November to place in the Nevada Constitution language
decriminalizing home use of less than 3 ounces of the drug. It would make
Nevada's marijuana laws the most lenient in the United States.

Anderson, who supports Question 9, conducted a phone survey on the question
and announced Tuesday the endorsement was approved by a 9-0 vote.
Afterward, law enforcement officials from police, the district attorney's
office and unions objected to the highly publicized endorsement.

Then it was revealed there was no board meeting and no formal vote.

The endorsement had been a coup for Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement, the group formed to promote the ballot question, and its
leader, Billy Rogers, predicted the endorsement would help them win the
vote in the Nov. 5 general election.

On Friday, Rogers said, "I don't think this means we will lose the
election. We would have won the election without NCOPS endorsement or with it."

But he challenged the veracity of the NCOPS board members, who said they
were confused when Anderson called and asked them how they felt about
Question 9.

Four out of five NCOPS board members contacted Thursday said they hadn't
thought it was a vote, nor had they understood the question. The four said
they believed it was a question involving medical use of marijuana. There
had been a Question 9 in 1998 and 2000 on permitting the medical use of the
drug.

"Either they were not telling the truth or they had their head in the sand
the last month," a clearly angry Rogers said.

Mick Gillins, the NCOPS vice president who became president upon Anderson's
resignation; David Burns, president of the Henderson Police Officers
Association; Mike Mcban of the North Las Vegas Police Officers Association;
and Ron Cuzze of the State Peace Officers Council all told the
Review-Journal they thought the question was related to medical marijuana,
not the decriminalization of small amounts of the drug.

In another move, Rogers said he believes two law enforcement officials
might have violated state and federal law by appearing on television with
bags of marijuana to show how much marijuana comprises 3 ounces.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker and Las Vegas police Detective
Todd Raybuck both appeared on television with the bags of the drug.

Rogers said he'll ask state and federal officials to investigate whether
that broke any laws by using the marijuana as a prop in a political campaign.

Booker's response: "Nonsense."

Said Raybuck: "I did that under the direction of (Undersheriff) Dick
Winget. The narcotics was checked out as evidence and used for the training
and education of the public."

ACLU of Nevada board member JoNell Thomas, a Las Vegas attorney, said if
Booker and Raybuck "want to campaign against Question 9, they shouldn't do
it with taxpayer dollars."

David Kallas, executive director of the 2,100-member Las Vegas Police
Protective Association, earlier said he was embarrassed by the endorsement.
On Friday, he said he hoped the revocation of the endorsement, along with
Anderson's resignation, puts the issue to rest.

"Andy, to preserve the integrity of NCOPS, did something nobody expected
him to do," Kallas said. "He took an extraordinary step, and it speaks to
his character because he put his life into that organization."

This wasn't the first time Anderson butted heads with other police union
officials.

He became president of NCOPS after he was ousted in April 2000 as president
of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association. He opposed demands for an
audit of the PPA's self-insured health plan, which cost him the support of
scores of members.