Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: No on Q9 = common sense

BILLY ROGERS spent almost 1 1/2 hours visiting our editorial board to promote his support of Question 9. Rogers, a Texan working out of Washington, D.C., is running a very expensive campaign to legalize the use of marijuana in the Silver State. The big dollars are being provided by billionaire Peter Lewis, one of three wealthy people who have spent millions to make pot legal.

A brief provided by law enforcement must be used to describe Lewis. He refused an interview request by a Sun reporter. The brief tells us in part: "Mr. Lewis, who spends much of his time in tropical climates aboard a converted tugboat called the Lone Ranger, says his personal use of marijuana has influenced his political activity. Last year, in New Zealand, he was arrested for possession of hashish and marijuana. Authorities there released him after he made a donation to a local drug-rehabilitation center, he says. 'My personal experience lets me understand and have a view of the relative effects of some of these substances,' he says."

Like most Nevadans, I have never met Lewis, but his proxy Rogers gave a most forthcoming interview. He is a bright and smooth-talking young man who says he hasn't smoked pot in 15 years. Rogers admits that Q 9 couldn't pass in his home state but he believes Nevada is fertile ground for the seeds he is planting.

He is one of many who believe that our state opened the door when reducing the penalty for the use of marijuana. The Q 9 pushers also see our legalizing the use of the drug for medical purposes as another invitation. Of course, I doubt if most people who approved its use for medical purposes, including me, foresaw that use as a step toward taking down other legal barriers.

The Los Angeles Times quotes Rogers saying, " 'Nevada is the only state in more than a decade to have passed decriminalization legislation.' " He added, "We believe we already have a strong base of support in Nevada and that the Legislature would give a good-faith effort to implement the necessary laws." Does Rogers have reason to believe we are an easy mark? Well, let's take some excerpts from other newspapers.

The Washington Post: "Nevada, land of blackjack and brothels, drive-through weddings and quickie divorces, appears tempted to go to yet another live-and-let-live extreme this fall and ease its drug laws in a way that few other states have even contemplated much less put up for a public vote."

USA Today: "Las Vegas -- For 30 years the campaign to legalize marijuana in America has gone nowhere. A few states have approved it for medical purposes. A few have removed criminal penalties for possessing small quantities. But no state has said, in effect, get high at your own risk."

I'm not cool but, along with fellow Nevadans, I don't like being treated as a rube. Writers misinterpreting my vote for medical marijuana as a door opener to turn our state into a carnival isn't appreciated. If you read the last sentence of Q 9 that's exactly what could happen. It reads, "Any statute or regulation inconsistent with this section is null and void after January 1, 2005."

Few people, other than Chief Deputy D.A. Gary Booker and Sandy Heverly of STOP DUI, have seen the blood and brains spread over our highways by drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Heverly told me, "Question 9 goes to the very core of STOP DUI's mission, which is to stop the violent crime of driving under the influence and assisting the innocent victims of that crime.

"If the marijuana initiative passes, more of this mind-altering drug would be easily available and abused, resulting in more people driving impaired, thus, creating more innocent DUI victims."

Another honest broker is outgoing Sheriff Jerry Keller who is against Q 9 because he doesn't "want to be responsible for the increase of criminal activity that -- make no mistake about it -- will follow the passing of this measure."

It was enjoyable to interview Rogers and he is a pleasant young man, but past experience tells me that Keller, Booker and Heverly will be our neighbors long after he goes on to promote marijuana in some other state.

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