Pubdate: Mon, 12 Nov 2012
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2012 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/press/letterstoeditor.html
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Authors: Kristi Jourdan and Mike Blasky

VOTES COULD ROIL STATE DRUG WAR

Marijuana Legalization Victories in Colorado, Washington State Raise Questions

Votes to legalize recreational marijuana use in Colorado and 
Washington state have set the stage for a confrontation between 
states' rights and federal law that could reverberate in Nevada's 
ongoing war on drugs.

The Colorado and Washington measures remove criminal penalties for 
adults possessing small amounts of the drug - the boldest rejection 
of pot prohibition laws passed across the country in the 1930s.

In Seattle, John Davis, a medical marijuana provider, called the 
votes "a significant movement in the right direction," but said he 
expects some confrontation with federal authorities. While state laws 
allow the recreational and medicinal use or marijuana, the drug is 
still illegal under federal law.

"This law does not prevent conflicts," he said, adding that its 
passage "will highlight the necessity to find some kind of resolution 
between state and federal laws."

While it's unclear how the conflict will be remedied, President 
Barack Obama earlier this year asked federal agencies not to 
prosecute individual medical marijuana users and to instead 
concentrate resources on large suppliers of the drug.

Lawmakers and advocates say Nevada, which already allows medical 
marijuana, could be one of the next states in the spotlight.

CHANGE IN ATTITUDE

It's clear public sentiment about marijuana has changed, said Beau 
Kilmer, cofounder of the Rand Drug Policy Research Center, a 
California-based nonpartisan think tank.

According to the most recent Gallup poll, "More than half of the 
country supports marijuana legalization," Kilmer said. "It's 
pronounced among younger voters, and younger voters are more likely 
to come out to the polls."

The Colorado law legalizes recreational use of marijuana, up to an 
ounce, for anyone 21 and older. It also calls for the creation of 
sanctioned stores for legal sales.

"I think we are at a tipping point on marijuana policy," said Brian 
Vicente, co-author of Colorado's marijuana measure. "We are going to 
see whether marijuana prohibition survives, or whether we should try 
a new and more sensible approach."

Kilmer said federal agencies will shape what the market looks like - 
whether they try a complete crackdown on those producing mass 
quantities or targeting children or take a more wait and-see approach.

"How the federal government responds will have a big impact on what 
happens," Kilmer said. "It will depend on the type of production 
allowed and the amount of enforcement put into it."

Kilmer added that he "wouldn't be surprised" to see California 
address the matter in 2014.

"How the federal government responds to these states, Colorado and 
Washington, will send a signal to other states," he said.

While Nevada allows medicinal marijuana for patients with 
debilitating conditions, one law enforcement official says endorsing 
recreational use could increase crime. Medicinal use also violates 
federal laws.

Kent Bitsko, director of the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking 
Areas task force in Nevada, said the Colorado and Washington state 
models would make life difficult for local law enforcement.

Marijuana is banned under federal law, but a typical possession case 
is a misdemeanor. Possession of an ounce or less of marijuana in 
Nevada is the equivalent of a traffic ticket, Bitsko said. Possession 
of more than an ounce is a felony.

Bitsko is less worried about the casual user, but he's worried about 
who would be supplying the dispensaries.

If dispensaries become legal, "we will see an explosion in the number 
of indoor grows (houses)," Bitsko said. "They are inviting illegal 
organizations to come in and supply these dispensaries."

ENFORCEMENT

Pot has come a long way since the 1960s, when it was a counterculture 
fixture. In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs. 
Twenty-five years later, California approved medical marijuana. Now, 
17 states and Washington, D.C., allow it.

Meanwhile, many more cities either took pot possession crimes off the 
books or directed officers to make marijuana arrests a low priority.

On Tuesday night, broad sections of the electorate in Colorado and 
Washington state backed the measures, some because they thought the 
drug war had failed and others because they viewed potential revenue 
as a boon for their states in lean times. A similar measure in Oregon failed.

"People think little old ladies with glaucoma should be able to use 
marijuana. This is different. This is a step further than anything we 
have seen to date," said Sam Kamin, a University of Denver law 
professor who has studied the history of pot prohibition.

The Justice Department says it is evaluating the measures. When 
California was considering legalization in 2010, Attorney General 
Eric Holder said it would be a "significant impediment" to joint 
federal and local efforts to combat drug traffickers.

NEVADA LAW

Nevada voters approved medical usage more than a decade ago.

The law allows Nevada medical marijuana cardholders to possess, 
deliver or grow small amounts of marijuana. But patients can't obtain 
it because other state laws make it illegal to buy or sell marijuana.

A Nevada judge recently threw out a drug trafficking charge against 
suppliers who provided marijuana to patients unable to grow it 
themselves, calling the law "either poorly contemplated or purposely 
constructed to frustrate the implementation of constitutionally 
mandated access to the substance."

The state Department of Health and Human Services keeps track of 
users through its registry. In 2011, there were more than 3,000 
registered medical marijuana users statewide.

But the law has led only to high-profile confrontation.

In recent years, Las Vegas police have sided with federal law, 
cracking down on illegal marijuana dispensaries, grow houses and pot 
plantations.

Police raided 146 grow houses last year, 138 in 2010 and 108 in 2009. 
Those figures have increased dramatically since 2007, when police 
staged 60 or 70 raids per year.

An increase in mass production grow houses could overwhelm an already 
short-staffed and lightly funded police task force.

"It's just not good for law enforcement no matter how you look at 
it," Bitsko said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration contends marijuana has no medical 
or other useful value.

Assemblyman Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, recognizes law enforcement 
concerns but said Nevada dispensaries would follow the Colorado 
model. Dispensaries could grow their own marijuana in tightly 
controlled rooms with video cameras. The product is weighed before 
and after it's moved for sale, and only certain people could transport it.

Segerblom wants to establish certified marijuana dispensaries and 
licensed farms where pot can be grown.

There are two proposals on the table that advocate reforming the 
state's medical marijuana laws. Another bill proposes changing 
regulation of dispensaries. But is Nevada ready for the change? "They 
haven't gone through something like having a medical marijuana law 
that works," Segerblom said. "We need to have that first so people 
can have confidence there's a process. We've got to start small."

That's what worked in Colorado and Washington so "people didn't think 
it would just be everybody running around, selling it on the street 
corner," he added.

POTENTIAL REVENUE

The revenue generated by taxed marijuana could bring in millions of 
dollars to Nevada otherwise leaving the state or "going into the 
pockets of criminals," Segerblom said.

Colorado would devote the potential tax revenue to school 
construction, while Washington would send pot taxes to an array of 
health programs. Colorado officials estimate between $5 million and 
$22 million a year in revenue.

Bitsko, the federal agent, said he worried drug use by children would 
rise with such a measure as well as overall drug use. He said other 
countries that have decriminalized drugs, such as Portugal, have 
struggled to curb criminal behavior.

"In every case I think we've seen some extreme negative effects, and 
in most cases countries are trying to step back," he said.

But Segerblom said moving toward recreational use is inevitable.

"Thinking we're not going to have it is unrealistic," Segerblom said. 
"It's just a question of how and when."
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