Nevada DAs oppose legalizing marijuana

Friday, July 12, 2002 | 10:49 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada District Attorney's Association has voted to oppose a proposed constitutional amendment to permit the possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults.

Churchill County District Attorney Arthur Mallory, president of the association, said the prosecutors feel marijuana is a "gateway drug" and people who use it go on to try more serious narcotics.

The proposed amendment, he said, would also conflict with federal law, which holds that marijuana is a controlled substance.

"We would be tilting at windmills," Mallory said today.

Billy Rogers of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington said he doubts the amendment would cause major problems with federal authorities.

Mallory said the federal government closed a business that dispensed marijuana in California. Rogers, however, said the California law was vague and did not set any standards.

The secretary of state's office said this week the backers of the marijuana petition have gained sufficient signatures to put the issue on the ballot in November. It would have to be passed this year and again in 2004 to become law.

"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 said.

"Nevadans support this initiative because it allows law enforcement to spend its time and resources tracking down terrorists, murderers, rapists and other violent criminals.

"It also puts strict controls on those who use marijuana, banning its use in public and penalizing those who drive dangerously under the influence."

The petition would allow anyone 21 or older to possess three ounces or less of marijuana without being charged with a crime. It would permit the Legislature to set up "pot shops" to sell the drug. Marijuana would be taxed like cigarettes.

The proposal also calls for low-cost medical marijuana to be available to seriously ill Nevadans.

The amendment would prohibit the shipping of marijuana into or out of the state unless the federal law was changed.

Mallory also said the district attorneys agreed to support the recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court on the death penalty regarding mentally retarded people and three-judge panels.

He said Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell was attending a national conference, so the votes by the Nevada association may not reflect his views.