NEVADANS MAY MAKE POT LEGAL

LAS VEGAS - After voting two years ago to ease state drug laws, Nevada
voters could go even further this year, making their state the first to
legalize marijuana and derive taxes from a regulated sales system.

It is a stunning possibility in a state where possession of more than 1
ounce of marijuana is still a felony, punishable by up to four years in
prison, and possession of less than an ounce remains a misdemeanor that
carries a $650 fine.

Yet the November ballot initiative follows two major changes in 2000 that
seemed to reflect shifting sentiments in Nevada toward marijuana. Voters
approved a measure to allow the use of marijuana for medical reasons, and
as part of the language to codify the measure, lawmakers reduced penalties
for possessing less than an ounce.

The combination made Nevada one of the nine states that have allowed legal
access to the drug for patients with a doctor's prescription and one of the
12 that have eased penalties for some offenses.

But the new initiative would catapult Nevada to the forefront of all states
reconsidering their approach to drug laws.

It would eliminate penalties for possessing up to 3 ounces for any reason
and direct the Legislature to treat marijuana much like tobacco products
and alcohol, regulating it through a system that would oversee how it is
grown, distributed and sold, generating tax revenue in the process.

"This is a landmark initiative that seeks more than what any state has
accomplished so far," said R. Keith Stroup, executive director of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a nonprofit group
working to reduce state and federal penalties for marijuana use.

Stroup cautioned, however, that the Nevada effort might be too ambitious to
succeed.

While states have reduced penalties for some marijuana offenses without
interference from the federal government, he said any measure that put a
state in the drug business would violate federal law and draw a challenge
from the Justice Department.

In general, when state law conflicts with federal law, the federal law
takes precedence, giving federal prosecutors the discretion to pursue a
case or not. A state-regulated drug operation, Stroup said, would be too
much for the federal government to ignore.

"It is highly unlikely the federal government would allow a state to create
a legal market for the sale of drugs in which the state licenses the sale
or sets up stores to sell it," he said.

"What it would do is place enormous pressure on Congress to take a rational
look at the nation's drug laws. As we begin to get more and more states
considering legalization, it will be impossible for Congress to stand in
their way."

Last week, the House took a step in that general direction when a
bipartisan bill was introduced to allow all states to approve marijuana for
medical purposes, thus eliminating any conflict with federal law. The
measure is considered a long shot, but the 36 sponsors reflect a wide
political range, from Rep. Barney Frank, a liberal Democrat from
Massachusetts, to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative Republican from
California.

Besides Nevada, eight other states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and Washington - have passed exemptions since 1996 to
allow patients with a doctor's prescription to use marijuana to relieve
pain and discomfort.

Arizona has initiatives on the November ballot to reduce possession
penalties. Other jurisdictions also have fall ballot measures, including
the District of Columbia, with a medical marijuana proposal, and San
Francisco, with a plan for the city to grow and distribute the drug for
patients living there. Ohio and Michigan have initiatives that would
provide treatment instead of imprisonment for some drug users.

But nothing appears to be as far-reaching as Nevada's effort, which can
only become law through a state constitutional amendment approved by voters
this year and again in 2004. The medical marijuana measure here passed with
59 percent of the vote in 1998 and with 65 percent in 2000. (By law,
amendments to the Nevada Constitution require voter approval in two
consecutive elections.)

Organizers of the campaign that put the current initiative on the November
ballot, Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, are selling it strictly
as a law enforcement issue. As Billy Rogers, campaign manager for the
effort, said, "Most Nevadans think it is a waste of taxpayers' money to
arrest people for small amounts of marijuana when the time could be better
spent arresting murderers and rapists."

Whether or not that means "most" Nevada voters would favor the new measure,
it has generated an unusually high level of support for such a big
controversy. A recent poll by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the state's
largest newspaper, found that 44 percent of state voters favored the
initiative, 46 percent opposed it and 10 percent were undecided. The survey
had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

In addition, the Review-Journal endorsed the idea in a July 7 editorial,
calling it "a promising first step" toward ending "the needless harassment
of individuals who peacefully and privately use marijuana."

And, perhaps mindful of the poll results, none of Nevada's leading
political figures, including Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican seeking
re-election this fall, have openly opposed the idea.

So far, the most outspoken critics of the initiative have been two recent
visitors from Washington - Asa Hutchinson, chief of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, and John Walters, head of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy.

Walters warned that passage could make Nevada "a vacation spot for drug
traffickers," but said, "I don't believe you'd see federal officials coming
in to enforce possession laws."

The proposal includes what organizers describe as safeguards, including
prohibitions against advertising, selling marijuana to anyone under 21, or
selling it in any public place like schools and parks or anywhere that
allows gambling. In addition, anyone caught driving dangerously under the
influence of marijuana could be arrested.

In general, Rogers said, the initiative "protects the responsible use of
marijuana."