Pubdate: Fri, 18 Oct 2002
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2002 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Contact:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234
Author: Cy Ryan, Sun Capital Bureau
Cited: Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement ( www.nrle.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?162 (Nevadans for Responsible Law 
Enforcement)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?163 (Question 9 (NV))

AG'S OFFICE AGAINST QUESTION 9

CARSON CITY -- A person who smoked marijuana and then contracted cancer 
could sue the state if voters approve Question 9, the state attorney 
general's office said Thursday.

But Billy Rogers, the leader in the drive to legalize small amounts of 
marijuana for adults, called the comments "another scare tactic" by the 
initiative's opponents. Rogers said the opponents do not want to focus on 
the real issues.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa joined a list of law enforcement 
agencies in opposing Question 9, which would allow adults to legally 
possess up to three ounces of marijuana.

The proposition would allow the state to license stores to sell marijuana 
and possibly to generate up to $28 million a year in taxes.

"Nevada cannot administer a legal state-run system to supply marijuana 
without incurring possible civil liability on a large scale," Del Papa's 
chief criminal deputy Gerald Gardner said. "This may be particularly true, 
if, as the proponents suggest, Nevada generates tax revenues by the sale 
and distribution of marijuana."

Rogers, however, said the state now licenses stores that sell tobacco and 
alcohol, and the state has never been sued in cases in which a person 
contracted cancer from cigarettes or in a case in which an intoxicated 
driver caused an accident. Del Papa also took issue with a TV commercial 
produced by the Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the group backing 
Question 9, calling it "misleading."

Rogers disagreed, saying the ad quotes from language on the ballot that was 
prepared by the AG's office and Secretary of State Dean Heller.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom