PETITION TO EASE NEVADA'S MARIJUANA LAWS UNDER REVIEW

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - County clerks confirmed Monday that they received
109,048 signatures on a petition to ease Nevada's marijuana laws. But state
election officials were hazy on whether the petition qualifies for the
November ballot.

Susan Morandi, elections deputy for Secretary of State Dean Heller, said the
numbers reflect a raw count, and she must complete a sampling process to
verify that Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement met minimum
requirements. The sampling results are expected Tuesday.

The group needs only 61,336 valid signatures to put the proposal before
voters. But the total must include 10 percent of the voter turnout in the
last election in at least 13 of Nevada's 17 counties.

Morandi said a preliminary review shows the petition didn't get the
necessary minimum in Elko and Douglas counties. That means the group can
lose only two more counties and still qualify with the minimum of 13 - and
Morandi said there's already some question about Nye County.

The raw count shows the petition should easily qualify in the state's
largest counties, Clark and Washoe. In Clark, encompassing Las Vegas,
proponents needed 38,477 names and turned in more than 67,000. In Washoe,
encompassing Reno, they needed 12,245 and turned in more than 26,000.

But the figures were much closer in some outlying counties. Sparsely
populated Esmeralda County, for example, reported a raw count of 67 compared
with the 50 signatures required there.

Several other counties - Mineral, Storey, Lincoln and Lander - reported only
about 100 to 200 signatures above the minimums.

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

The proposed ballot question would ask Nevadans if they want to allow
possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana.

If approved this year and again in 2004 by voters, Nevada would have one of
the most relaxed marijuana laws in the nation.

It still would be illegal for minors to possess the drug, and driving under
the influence laws would still apply. It also still would be illegal to use
marijuana in public places.

A distribution system would be set up to provide low-cost medical marijuana.