Pubdate: Tue, 24 Oct 2006
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2006 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Contact:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234
Author: Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Question+7

BUSH OFFICIALS, PROPONENT SQUARE OFF AGAINST QUESTION 7 IN DAYTON

The Nevada ballot initiative to legalize possession of up to an ounce 
of marijuana is being orchestrated by interests in Washington D.C., 
according to a Bush Administration official.

But a backer of Question 7 pointed to the clear Capitol connections 
of Scott Burns, who's deputy director of the White House Office of 
National Drug Control Policy for State and Local Affairs.

"The reason this is on the ballot is because 86,000 Nevadans signed 
petitions to put it on the ballot," Patrick Killen of Las Vegas said.

Burns claimed that the power behind the initiative was using Nevada 
as a guinea pig to see if it can legalize all drugs.

He spoke at a panel discussion Monday at the Dayton Community Center 
on Question 7 sponsored by Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and 
Storey Counties, which opposes the measure.

Killen and about 10 others protested outside the center.

Burns said the initiative is funded 98 percent from Washington, D.C. 
He named John Sperling, founder of the University of Phoenix; Peter 
Lewis of Progressive Insurance Co., and billionaire investor George 
Soros as the money men behind the ballot measure.

Killen said Washington needs to fix its own problems before telling 
Nevadans how to vote on a local issue.

"We support Question 7 because we believe that Nevada marijuana laws 
have failed and it's time for a sensible alternative.," he said. 
"Question 7 would tax and regulate marijuana in Nevada, taking it 
away from violent gangs and drug dealers."

But Burns and fellow panel members Las Vegas police officer Todd 
Raybuck and John Shields, head of the New Frontier Treatment Center 
in Fallon, said passage would make drug use more acceptable and 
encourage use among children.

"When I was in high school and college, it was a 'rite of passage' 
drug," Burns said. "Now it's a rite of passage drug for 10- to 12-year-olds."

Burns said that the drug use among youth is decreasing, and passage 
of Question 7 would make it seem like a normal thing to do.

Raybuck, a 14-year veteran of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police 
Department said today's marijuana is 50 percent to 70 percent more 
potent than it was in the 1960s and '70s and has a chilling effect on youth.

"The more powerful pot rewires the adolescent brain similar to heroin 
or cocaine," he said.

Raybuck told a story of two brothers. One brother, who never used 
drugs, stayed in school, had a career, family and a nice home. The 
other brother started smoking marijuana and kept smoking for 30 
years. He went on to use methamphetamine and cocaine.

"He never held a job more than six months," Raybuck said. "He has two 
sons he never sees."

Raybuck said the brother is now doing a long stretch in prison for 
crimes he committed while on drugs.

"I can tell you about this brother, because he's my brother," Raybuck said.

Both Burns and Raybuck stated that even if Question 7 passes, federal 
law, which supersedes state law, still outlaws possession and use of marijuana.

But several of some two dozen people who attended the panel 
discussion defended the initiative, though they did not give their names.

One woman stated that she lived in constant pain and would rather use 
marijuana than Vicodin or other prescribed drugs that leave her "like 
a zombie."

Another man criticized the amount of financial resources used in 
fighting drugs.

"I don't want kids smoking dope, drinking beer, or smoking 
cigarettes, but the war on drugs has been a failure," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman