NEVADA TO VOTE ON LEGALIZING SMALL AMOUNTS OF MARIJUANA

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Voters in Nevada, which up until last year had the
nation's strictest marijuana law, will decide in November whether to let
adults legally possess small amounts of the drug.

State officials said Tuesday that a petition drive to put the measure on
the ballot had narrowly succeeded with about 75,000 valid signatures.

Under the proposal, marijuana would be sold in state-licensed shops and
taxed like cigarettes and other tobacco products. A distribution system
would also be set up to provide low-cost marijuana for medical uses.

To become law, the change needs voter approval this year and in 2004.
Whether it could ever take effect is unclear. Federal law bans marijuana
possession, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that states cannot
make exceptions for medical use.

The proposal would let adults have up to 3 ounces of marijuana. Driving
under the influence would still be illegal, as would using marijuana in
public places.

"The success of our petition drive provides solid evidence that most
Nevadans think it's a waste of their tax dollars to arrest people for small
amounts of marijuana," said Billy Rogers of Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement.

Law-enforcement groups in Nevada are expected to oppose the ballot measure.

"Three ounces is quite a bit," said Lt. Stan Olsen, lobbyist for the Las
Vegas police. "If we legalize it, what is next? A lot of people don't use
drugs now because they are illegal, and they stand to lose in their
personal or professional lives if they use."

Until last year, puffing on a single marijuana cigarette in Nevada was a
felony punishable by a year or more behind bars. But the stiff penalties
were rarely imposed.

Lawmakers have since made possession of less than an ounce a misdemeanor.