MARIJUANA PROPOSAL ON BALLOT IN NEVADA

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Nevadans will vote in November on a proposal to ease
the state's once-harsh marijuana laws and allow adults to possess up to 3
ounces of the drug.

Susan Bilyeu, deputy secretary of state for elections, said 74,740
signatures turned in by Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement in support
of an initiative petition were valid.

More than 34,000 names were tossed out in the verification process. But
that still left the advocates above the minimum requirement of 61,336 names.

But the petitioners just barely met a requirement that the total include 10
percent of the voter turnout in the last election in at least 13 of
Nevada's 17 counties. They fell short in three counties, and were only four
signatures over the minimum in Esmeralda County and just 19 signatures over
the minimum in Eureka County.

Had the petitioners lost those two counties, they would have been one shy
of the 13-county requirement.

Billy Rogers of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement said his group was
confident of success despite the close margins.

"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," Rogers added.

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

Such penalties were rarely imposed, and the old law didn't stop Nevadans
from approving the use of medical marijuana in 2000. State legislators in
2001 also passed a law making possession of less than an ounce a misdemeanor.

It would still be illegal for minors to possess the drug or for anyone to
sell marijuana to minors, and driving-under-the-influence laws would still
apply.