Study set on how Nevada will handle medical pot use

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1999 | 1:35 a.m.

Board President Arne Rosencrantz of Las Vegas said Monday the panel decided to be part of a coalition of health care providers that will look at the problems of letting patients use pot in 2001.

"We are trying to get ahead of the curve since it looks like the initiative will pass," Rosencrantz said.

Nevada voters will decide in November 2000 whether to amend the state constitution and allow the distribution of marijuana to people with cancer, glaucoma and other heath problems.

Because voters overwhelmingly approved the same initiative last year, Rosencrantz figures they will make the same choice next year. Nevada law requires voters to approve initiative questions twice before the constitution is amended.

If the question passes again, the Legislature in 2001 would have to develop laws to carry out the wishes of voters.

A coalition of members of the Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Medical Examiners and other organizations will study ways to acquire marijuana and then to distribute it to people with health care needs.

"We need a method of dealing with it," Rosencrantz said. "California is still having problems. I don't know if there is a great solution, but at least we will have some idea of what we are working with."

The Board of Pharmacy initiated the move for the state to study medical marijuana.

Five states and the District of Columbia already have approved medical marijuana initiatives. California marijuana backers formed a number of buyers clubs for distribution after its voters passed an initiative in 1996. Most have been closed down by federal authorities.

Nevada law makes possession of even a small amount of marijuana a felony, although the offense will be removed from records of some users if they complete anti-drug programs. An attempt to reduce the offense to a misdemeanor failed to secure approval from the Legislature earlier this year.