Bill to lower pot penalties clears Assembly committee

Tuesday, May 8, 2001 | 10:40 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A bill that reduces the penalty for possession of a small amount of marijuana from a felony to a misdemeanor breezed through a hearing before the Assembly Ways and Means Committee Monday.

Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, expressed the only opposition. She said the measure sent "the wrong message that it's OK to have a little bit" of the drug. But Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored Assembly Bill 453, said prosecutors the first time often lower the charges for people caught with a small amount of pot.

The bill also sets up a system for the chronically ill to grow their own marijuana or obtain it from another source without running afoul of the law. The bill, which has passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee, was before the Ways and Means Committee, because it requires a $30,000 appropriation to get the medical marijuana system started. Chairman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, said funds will be found, even though money is in short supply.

"We will find some money to make it work, because the people have spoken," Arberry said.

However, no action was taken on the measure Monday.

Giunchigliani said possession of less than an ounce of marijuana would still be a crime -- punishable by a fine of up to $600 and a requirement that offenders be examined to determine if they are drug addicts and are likely to be helped through treatment.

She said there were a lot of protections in the bill against abuse. "Marijuana is a habit, not an addiction," she said, adding it was "not a gateway to harder drugs." Voters in 2000 approved for the second time a ballot measure allowing the use of marijuana by people with chronic or debilitating medical conditions such as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and other medical conditions.

A doctor could sign a statement that a person suffered from these conditions and the use of marijuana may mitigate the symptoms or effects of the illness. The individual would apply to the state Division of Agriculture for a registration card. The application would be reviewed to determine whether the physician was in good standing and if the applicant had a criminal record involving drug trafficking.

Applicants would pay a $50 fee, and the identification card would have to be renewed each year.

Individuals would be able to grow marijuana in limited quantities. Marijuana seeds can be bought via the Internet.