REEFER MADNESS

DEA chief Asa Hutchinson was in Reno last week, delivering a speech in
which he embraced a crackdown on methamphetamine labs.

Afterward, though, he couldn't resist taking a poke at the proposal on
Nevada's fall ballot to legalize possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana.

If the measure is approved, he said, "What kind of tourism will Nevada
attract?"

Stoners among all the gamblers, womanizers and boozers? Perish the thought!

Yes, Mr. Hutchinson, if the pot initiative passes, hordes of
Birkenstock-wearing, pony-tailed hippies will descend upon the Silver State
in their VW buses, clogging traffic as they steal bong hits while cruising
the Strip.

Then, of course, the lucrative California tourist market will dry up when
Fred and Ethel from Orange County decide against making the trek up
Interstate 15 for fear they'll be accosted in Las Vegas by crazed young
people high on that wacky tobacky.

Next thing you know, the only in-room movies available at the high-end
resorts will be "Up in Smoke" and "Dude, Where's my Car?" Why, instead of
passing out thinly veiled porn, hawkers on the Strip will be thrusting
copies of High Times into the clutches of beleaguered tourists.

Reefer madness, anyone?