DRUGS: WILL THE SILVER STATE GO GREEN?

Voters in Nevada, a state famous for its legalized brothels and gaming
industry, will decide in November whether to make it the first U.S. haven
for a different vice: marijuana. A new ballot petition created by Nevadans
for Responsible Law Enforcement (NRLE) proposes that possession of up to
three ounces be legalized, that the product be taxed and that its sale and
usage be regulated. "People are tired of having their tax dollars wasted
funding arrests for minor possession," says NRLE leader Billy Rogers. His
group gathered the necessary voter signatures, and a sizable surplus, in
only 40 days. "That's a pretty fast turnover," says a spokesman for
Nevada's attorney general. Bud do most Nevadans really want hash cafes to
sprout up in their cities, as has been the case in Amsterdam and
Vancouver? "A lot of the rural areas are traditionally more
conservative. But Nevada has always had a strong tradition of letting the
people vote for themselves," says District Attorney Arthur Mallory,
president of the Nevada D.A.s Association. Excited parties, however,
should wait to exhale: the initiative would also need a majority in 2004
elections in order to pass, and even then the Feds could still claim
jurisdiction to bust up the party.