Chief justice enters debate over drug czar’s anti-pot visit

Monday, May 10, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- State Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Shearing has ordered Secretary of State Dean Heller to explain why he has not required the federal drug czar to file campaign expense reports when he has appeared in Nevada to oppose the marijuana initiative.

Heller now has 30 days to file a response to a lawsuit filed by the Marijuana Policy Project, which is pushing for John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, to file the reports. They are required by others who campaign for and against an initiative.

In her order Friday, Shearing said the Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington D.C., has "set forth issues of arguable merit" and the group has no plain or speedy remedy under the law.

Heller's office said it has followed state Attorney General Brian Sandoval's advice, which said Walters was exempt from filing the campaign documents because he was in Nevada as part of his federal duties.

Walters campaigned against an initiative petition in the 2002 election that sought to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. It was defeated.

The marijuana initiative was revived this year, and Walters showed up in Las Vegas on March 11 to criticize the new effort.

The Marijuana Project had sought and failed to get Walters to submit his campaign expenses in 2002. The group sued this year to force the disclosure.

Bruce Mirken, director of communications for the group, said the organization was pleased that the issue will now be addressed. "We're looking forward to this procedure," he said.

A federal attorney for Walters said the director was exempt from Nevada law. The state attorney general's office said Walters was immune from filing the report because he was acting within the scope of his duties when he appeared in Las Vegas and Reno in 2002.

The suit said the Supreme Court should correct the errors in the legal interpretation of the law.

A new initiative petition being circulated would amend the Nevada Constitution to allow use by adults of one ounce of marijuana. It must gain the signatures of 51,234 signatures of Nevada voters by June 15 to be placed on the November ballot. It is also required the petition have 10 percent of the signatures of the voters in 13 of the 17 counties.

The organization has expressed confidence it will qualify the issue for the ballot.