MARIJUANA LAW CHANGE WOULD NOT PROMPT FEDERAL CRACKDOWN

But Drug Czar Says Easing Possession Limit Would Be Bad For Nevada

If Nevadans vote to legalize the possession of 3 ounces or less of
marijuana, the federal government will not "strong arm" them by stepping up
the enforcement of federal drug possession laws, the nation's drug czar
said Wednesday.

"That's not our intent," said John Walters, who leads the Office of
National Drug Control Policy. "People have the right to make their own
decisions."

Walters was in Las Vegas to convince Nevadans that legalizing the
possession of small amounts of marijuana is a bad idea. Voters will
consider the initiative Nov. 5.

At a morning news conference, Walters was asked whether approval of the
Nevada initiative would lead to an added federal law enforcement campaign
against marijuana users such as the one that has unfolded recently in
California.

There, federal officials repeatedly have raided cannabis clubs and made
arrests despite a 1996 ballot initiative allowing patients, with a doctor's
recommendation, to grow, possess and use the drug for pain relief.

"I don't believe you'd see federal officials coming into (Nevada) to
enforce possession laws," he said.

Nonetheless, Walters said legalizing the possession of small amounts of
marijuana in Nevada is a mistake. He said it would make the state a haven
for drug dealers and expose more juveniles to marijuana.

"It (Nevada) would become the vacation spot for drug traffickers," Walters
said.

"Look at the current levels of crime, (drug) dependency and lost
opportunities," he said. "Do people want more of that? I don't think so."

Billy Rogers, a spokesman for Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement,
questioned whether Walters has read the state's initiative, which also
calls for criminal punishment of anyone who sells marijuana to minors.

Rogers also said those who drive under the influence of marijuana face
arrest and prosecution, and that under the initiative, the state would
license the sellers of small amounts of marijuana for medical purposes, and
the drug would be taxed like cigarettes.

"When the facts aren't on their side, they start making things up," Rogers
said. "They are trying to scare people, but the voters in Nevada are a lot
smarter than the politicians from Washington, D.C.

"The opposition to this is not coming from within Nevada; it's coming from
Washington, D.C.," Rogers said. "Most Nevadans don't think people should be
arrested for small amounts of marijuana."

Until 2001, Nevada had the strictest marijuana laws in the nation.
Possession of even small amounts was a felony offense that feasibly could
carry prison time.

But the state's harsh approach came into serious question with voter
support for the use of marijuana for medical purposes. In both 1998 and
2000, Nevadans overwhelmingly voted to allow people to use and grow small
amounts of marijuana with a doctor's prescription.

In turn, the state Legislature modified the law to accommodate the voters'
wishes on medical marijuana, and made possession of small amounts of the
drug a misdemeanor.

Voters must approve the initiative in November and again in 2004 before it
can become part of the Nevada Constitution.

District Attorney Stewart Bell said Wednesday that he supports continuing
to treat possession of marijuana as a misdemeanor.

"We usually resolve it with some drug counseling or community service," he
said. "We don't make more out of it than it deserves."

Bell said, "There are definitely cases where using marijuana leads to use
of serious drugs and crime.

"The way it's treated now is probably the fairest and best way," he said.

Rogers said decriminalizing up to 3 ounces would free up a lot of valuable
time for law enforcement that otherwise could be spent pursuing other
criminal cases.

"They lose up to eight hours on the street for each arrest of an otherwise
law-abiding citizen with a small amount of marijuana," he said.

Detective David Kallas, executive director of the Las Vegas Police
Protective Association, said the valley's largest police union has yet to
take a formal position on the issue, adding that the union needs more
information.

A recent poll conducted for the Review-Journal and reviewjournal.com showed
that 44 percent of Nevada voters surveyed support the initiative, 46
percent oppose it, while 10 percent are undecided. The poll had a margin of
error of plus or minus four percentage points.

Walters attributed the seemingly high number of people who support the
initiative to what he termed misinformation spread by pro-marijuana lobbyists.

"It's a complete fabrication that we're taking low-level offenders and
throwing them in prison, (such as) a 15-year-old with a baggie in his
pants," he said.

Walters said the public doesn't believe there is such a thing as marijuana
dependence. He said his office plans to educate them with scientific data.

"The biochemistry of dependence on marijuana is the same as for other
drugs," he said. "These are important realities that are not known."

He said baby boomers might think it's harmless that their kids are
experimenting with marijuana as they did. He said the marijuana sold to
teenagers today is more potent and dangerous than the strain their parents
used when they were young.

"I don't think they can make the decision to take their teenager's
marijuana use seriously if they don't know what we know," Walters said.

Rogers said the drug czar is the one engaging in a practice of spreading
misinformation, on the taxpayers' dime.

"The federal Drug Enforcement Administration, they've got billions of
dollars to wage public relations campaign against us," Rogers said. "We
feel confident that the people of Nevada will be informed of what's in this
initiative and they'll ignore the smoke screens."