DEA BOSS SAYS NEVADA'S POT MEASURE WILL ATTRACT WRONG ELEMENT

RENO, Nev. -- The head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration warns
a ballot measure that would legalize small amounts of marijuana in Nevada
would attract the wrong element to the state heavily dependent on tourism.

"What kind of tourism will Nevada attract?" DEA Director Asa Hutchinson
asked after a speech in Reno Thursday urging a crack down on
methamphetamine labs.

Legalizing possession of up to 3 ounces of pot would encourage teens to
experiment with the drug and "encourage Nevadans to engage in behavior that
would violate federal law," he said.

"That would leave Nevada with one of the most liberal policies on drugs,"
he told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Backers of the Nevada measure, organized as Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement, collected well over the 60,000 signatures necessary to get it
on the ballot in November. They argue it is a waste of taxpayer dollars to
prosecute minor pot offenders.

Hutchinson said the initiative is the work of a national group that wants
to see marijuana completely legalized not a grassroots effort of Nevadans.

Until last year, Nevada had the strictest marijuana law in the nation.
Puffing on a single marijuana cigarette was a felony offense punishable by
a prison term of a year or more.

Under the new proposal, marijuana would be taxed like cigarettes and other
tobacco products, and sold only in state-licensed shops.

It still would be illegal to use marijuana in public. It also would be
illegal to drive under the influence of the drug, for minors to possess it
and for private individuals to sell it.

Hutchinson said although he opposes Nevada's marijuana initiative, his
office won't campaign against it. But if opposition forms against the
ballot measure, Hutchinson said his office would be willing to help by
providing information.

Hutchinson said some mistakenly believe that marijuana is not harmful. But
more teen-agers seek treatment for marijuana abuse than for any other drug,
including alcohol, he said.

He called for more drug testing in the workplace, and employee assistance
programs for workers found to be using drugs. About 75 percent of drug
users are employed, he said.