Editorial: Marijuana group: No means no

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2003 | 8:49 a.m.

In 2002 Nevada was seen by the Marijuana Policy Project Foundation as an ideal state in which to push its agenda. Principally, this Washington-based nonprofit group wanted Nevada voters to approve an initiative petition that would have legalized, for adults, the possession of 3 ounces of marijuana. The group envisioned state-sanctioned pot shops, where adults could buy up to 3 ounces of this drug. Nevada was considered ideal because its population is small compared to most other states. Our few population centers made campaigning easy. The organizers also figured that because voters enjoy legalized gambling throughout the state and legalized prostitution in some counties, they would be open to legalized marijuana use. They figured wrong. Voters rejected the petition 60.7 percent to 39.3 percent.

We opposed the foundation's premise that marijuana should be legalized. The foundation's out-of-state political strategists, however, were welcome to campaign here, get their question on the ballot and hear from the voters. But now that they have their answer, we're irked that they won't accept it. They're determined to have Nevada vote their way so they can use the victory to stimulate campaigns in other states.

The foundation is running TV ads in Reno that promote the notion that teen drug use would decline if marijuana were legalized. It cites a 2001 finding by the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy that 67.1 percent of Nevada's 12th graders at one time or another tried marijuana. It compares that with a 2001 survey by the government of Netherlands -- where adults can legally buy marijuana -- showing that only 28 percent of its teens in the same age group had tried marijuana.

This unscientific comparison proves nothing. The surveys used different methodologies -- in the Netherlands, for example, the teens received money for responding. Even if compatible surveys, including more than just the Netherlands, had been compared and the same results achieved, would that justify legalizing marijuana? We do not need more drivers who are under the influence and more young adults who look to drugs for recreation.

We support the limited and supervised use of marijuana for medical purposes and we support lighter penalties for first-time possession of small amounts of marijuana. But we don't support the tactics of this marijuana foundation, which continues to use Nevada as a testing ground even after it received a resounding no for an answer.