PETITION SEEKS LEGAL MARIJUANA POSSESSION

CARSON CITY -- A drive started this weekend to collect more than 61,000
signatures on a petition to change the Nevada Constitution to allow adults
to possess three ounces or less of marijuana without being charged with a
crime.

Backers want to qualify the petition for the November ballot but admit it
could be difficult to gather that many signatures before the June 18 deadline.

"It's a long shot," said Gail Tuzzolo, spokeswoman for Nevadans for
Responsible Law Enforcement, based in Las Vegas.

The petition would also require the state to set up a system to distribute
low-cost marijuana to low-income people who need it for medical purposes.
The state would tax the sale of marijuana in much the same way it does
tobacco, the petition states.

Tuzzolo said the group behind the plan is the Marijuana Policy Project of
Washington, which has about 7,000 members. She said similar drives are
moving forward in other states.

To amend the Nevada Constitution the group must gather 61,336 signatures of
registered voters in the next five weeks -- and 10 percent of the voters in
13 of the 17 counties must sign the petition for it to qualify for the
November ballot.

The proposal would have to be passed this year and again in 2004 by the
voters before it would become part of the constitution.

Tuzzolo said this group is different from the one that pushed through a
constitutional amendment to allow those with doctor's statements to use
marijuana for medical purposes such as easing the pain from cancer or other
illnesses.