MARIJUANA BALLOT ISSUE - POLICE BACK LEGALIZATION MEASURE

Board Of State Group Says Officers Have More Pressing Concerns

Advocates of changing the Nevada Constitution to decriminalize possession of 3
ounces or less of marijuana landed a significant endorsement from an unlikely
Source: police.

Andy Anderson, president of the Nevada Conference of Police and
Sheriffs, said Tuesday that the group's board voted 9-0 to support
Question 9, the ballot question that would block the arrest or
prosecution of people 21 or older found with 3 ounces or less of marijuana.

NCOPS' rationale: Police should be working more serious crimes.

"We're not endorsing marijuana, we're not saying marijuana is good.
We're saying we should be spending our time protecting and serving the
public," Anderson said. "It's not cops for pot."

However, the victory by ballot measure proponents was muddied
somewhat. One board member was confused and thought he was voting on
medical marijuana use. Also, the largest organization within NCOPS
disagrees with the endorsement.

Mick Gillins, assistant executive director of the Las Vegas Police
Protective Association, said he voted yes Monday under the belief he
was supporting the use of marijuana for medical purposes. That was the
Question 9 ballot question of 1998 and 2000.

Gillins said while he initially misunderstood the ballot question,
after discussing it again with Anderson, "I'm sticking with my vote."

However, David Kallas, his boss at the PPA, said the PPA will not
support the part of Question 9 that legalizes marijuana use for
adults. The question also contains some language regarding the use of
marijuana for medical purposes.

"We don't have an issue with a proposal legalizing marijuana for
medical purposes based on a doctor's prescription," Kallas said.

NCOPS is an umbrella group representing police unions from Las Vegas,
North Las Vegas, Henderson, the Clark County School District and other
police officer organizations in Nevada. NCOPS represents more than
3,000 members, of which 2,100 are PPA members.

"The bottom line is, we think we can use our resources better than
making simple marijuana arrests," Anderson said.

Anderson predicted the NCOPS endorsement will have a major impact to
help the passage of the question, which will be on November's ballot.

Current polls show that Nevadans are divided on this question, which
is opposed by federal drug officials and the Clark County district
attorney's office.

Billy Rogers is point man for the question's backers, Nevadans for
Responsible Law Enforcement, which is a subsidiary of the national
Marijuana Policy Project.

"This endorsement puts us over the top," he said, because it
reinforces the message that police are spending too much time
arresting people using small amounts of drugs.

Rogers said his group spent $375,000 on the petition drive that
qualified the ballot question and has raised about $150,000 so far for
the campaign promoting the question.

The NCOPS endorsement will be part of the group's ad campaign because
officers are the most credible spokespersons on the issue, Rogers said.

Both he and Kallas were surprised by the NCOPS endorsement. "A month
ago, if you had told me we'd get this endorsement, I would not have
thought it possible," Rogers said.

Two candidates for sheriff both said they oppose Question 9.

Capt. Randy Oaks said, "I am opposed to the legalization of even small
amounts of marijuana, and while I empathize with the very few people
who could benefit from its medicinal qualities, the experience in
California is that it was largely abused and the people pushing this
are not the people who need it for illness."

Like Gillins, Oaks said he thought the Question 9 on this year's
ballot was the medicinal marijuana question, which passed and is
already in the Nevada Constitution. In the public's eyes, the two
clearly have become intertwined, Oaks said, contending that leads to
confusion.

Deputy Chief Bill Young couldn't be reached Tuesday but told the
Review-Journal editorial board on July 25 he opposes the new marijuana
proposal because it "sends the wrong message to young people."

He said the current way marijuana use is handled, with possession of 1
ounce being a misdemeanor that no one goes to jail for, is about right.

However, he did add, "If older folks want to smoke (marijuana) in
their own homes, I could care less."

Young is endorsed by NCOPS, and Oaks said the pot question endorsement
"speaks to the credibility of their endorsement."

While federal drug officials have urged Nevadans to vote against
Question 9, no group opposing it yet has organized formally.

Gary Booker, the chief deputy district attorney in charge of the
vehicular crimes unit, said that's about to change. A coalition of DUI
and victims groups will be organizing to fight the ballot because of
concern that the question will weaken DUI prosecutions.

Booker said Nevada will be a laughingstock if the question passes.
"Nobody else has mandated it's legal to smoke pot as a constitutional
right," he said. "You amend your constitution to free slaves or enact
women's rights or where there is a true constitutional evil. You don't
change your constitution to allow people to smoke drugs."

Booker said NCOPS was being "myopic" by taking the position that
officers are wasting their time making drug arrests. He said this
overlooks broader policy issues about drug use.

Rogers pointed to the elements of the petition's language that would
limit pot use. The question says the Legislature should write laws to
provide penalties for driving dangerously while under the influence of
marijuana, smoking pot in a vehicle or public place or distribution in
a jail, prison or school.

In 2000, the previous Question 9 approving marijuana for medical use
passed with the support of 65 percent of voters. This new Question 9
must be approved by voters in 2002 and 2004 before taking effect.

If the question is approved, Nevada, which had the strictest marijuana
laws in the nation until 2001, would have the most lenient. Among the
most lenient states, Ohio, New York, Maine, Mississippi and Nebraska
now require police merely to issue citations for people possessing
small amounts of marijuana. Offenders pay small fines, usually $100.

Before 2001, possession of even small amounts in Nevada was a felony
offense that could carry prison time but rarely did. After the medical
use question passed, the Legislature decriminalized possession of 1
ounce or less in 2001.

A recent Review-Journal and reviewjournal.com poll indicated Nevada
voters are almost evenly split on the issue. The poll results
concluded that 44 percent of Nevada voters surveyed support the
initiative, 46 percent oppose it, while 10 percent are undecided.