Marijuana group: Feds broke law

Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003 | 11:23 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A group that backed a marijuana ballot question in November says the federal government violated Nevada law by not filing campaign expense reports on the money spent opposing the measure.

Robert Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, filed a complaint with Secretary of State Dean Heller alleging that federal drug czar John Walters failed to submit his campaign report.

Heller on Tuesday sent a letter to Walters asking him to respond to the allegations. The secretary of state said the law requires every person or group who advocates the passage or defeat of a ballot question to submit the reports.

The ballot issue that would have legalized possession of a small amount of marijuana was defeated.

As of October's campaign filing, Kampia's organization had spent $1.2 million to qualify the marijuana petition for the ballot and to advocate its passage. The final report due Wednesday has not been received by the secretary of state's office.

Opponents to the marijuana petition reported in October they collected $147,800. Their report, due Wednesday, has not been received.

Walters did not file a report in October and no final report had been received as of today.

Kampia, in his complaint, said there is no doubt "that Mr. Walters expended funds while advocating the defeat of Question 9. He paid to travel from Washington, D.C., to Nevada -- with a security detail in tow -- in order, as he said 'to challenge this ballot initiative."'

More significantly, Kampia said, was that Walters "authorized and approved a series of anti-marijuana commercials which aired virtually around the clock in Nevada during the latter months of the campaign."