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SMOKING BALLOTS

Students Comment on Question 7 One Week Before Election Day

The subject of marijuana has become an issue for public debate in recent years, though its use is not necessarily a recent occurrence. 

In 2004, 771,605 people were arrested in marijuana-related situations, and many feel that these cases waste law enforcement agents' time that could be spent seeking out more "serious" criminals. 

Because of this, politically minded individuals have placed initiatives on ballots to alleviate the situation either by legalizing or regulating it with the government's oversight. 

Question 7 attempts to address the problem by regulating the sale of marijuana to persons 21 years of age or older.  If passed, marijuana retailers and wholesalers will be required to acquire a license from the Nevada Department of Taxation, and half of the tax revenue earned will be allocated to fund programs that fight alcoholism, tobacco and drug use, while the other half will go into a general fund. 

People 21 years of age or older will be legally allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of the substance, and the penalties for operating vehicles while under the influence of marijuana, as well as penalties for the distribution of the drug to a minor, will be increased. 

Those in support of the ballot initiative say very bluntly, "Our marijuana laws do not work." The Nevada 2006 ballot guide cites 10,000 marijuana-related arrests in the past three years, and it says that despite state laws, the drug still seems to proliferate. 

Supporters advocate a system of regulation and taxation that they see as a "sensible alternative" to the "free-for-all" that the marijuana market is now. 

Matthew Hagen, executive director of the UNLV Young Democrats, reinforces this argument saying, "We ( Nevadans ) spend billions of dollars fighting marijuana use, and it's not worth the money."

He supports Question 7, even though he has stated that he is not a smoker himself.  He admits that it is probably "a loss issue between Democrats" as there are different sides on the issue within the party. 

President of the UNLV College Republicans, Ciara Turns, said of Question 7, "on the surface, it seems harmless." She agreed that, "obviously the Republican party is encouraging people to vote no," somewhat exemplifying the party penetrating issues involved in Question 7. 

The opposition to Question 7 says in the ballot guide, "Nevada police made 460,000 arrests in the last three years; only 2 percent of those were for marijuana," in an effort to counter the argument that state law enforcement programs are wasted. 

Their main argument revolves around use by minors, asserting that, "many experts believe legalizing marijuana for adults will likely result in children smoking marijuana as a sign of growing up believing it as a 'badge of adulthood,' much like alcohol and tobacco are today." They reinforce this by providing statistics about the 11 million minors who drink alcohol and the 50 percent of students who have used tobacco products.  They also have said that, "marijuana was involved in more than 215,000 emergency department visits nationwide," and call attention to its health effects, stating, "marijuana contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke" and "smoking three to four joints per day causes as much harm to the respiratory system as smoking a full pack of cigarettes a day." Their argument also touches on marijuana users' statistical performance in the workplace, in that their absenteeism and probability for on-the-job accidents is higher than the normal worker. 

Those in support claim that marijuana is much safer than already legalized alcohol.  The ballot guide reads, "It appears no fatal overdoses from marijuana have ever been recorded, yet alcohol overdoses kill nearly 20,000 Americans annually."

Question 7's opposition says, "claims that we should eliminate marijuana because people use the drug is like saying we should remove laws for theft because people steal." This contrasts Matthew Hagen, who said, "Even Prohibition didn't work."

Many students have admitted that the campaign in support of Question 7 has been run well, and there is a good possibility of passage.  Even with that, Ariel Xaubet, a sophomore economics major, said, "If it doesn't pass, something like it will be on the next ballot until it finally passes."