Re "Liberals should learn from pot regulation" (Let Freedom Ring, July 30):

Whether one supports or opposes medical marijuana establishments in Washoe County, everyone can agree on one issue. The current site dispensary selection procedure is totally devoid of any semblance of promised transparency. Our politicians certainly waxed poetic last November regarding the need for transparency and integrity in government. Would it surprise you to know that this legislation was specifically written to keep secret the identity of the dispensary owners? Tradespeople were required to sign non-disclosure agreements! Prominent dispensary owners only went public to help with public relations damage control when rumors started circulating. This is not governmental transparency in action.

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Clark County government decided more than a year ago that it wanted medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in unincorporated areas. We know this because county commissioners last year passed an ordinance allowing the dispensaries, then spent weeks meeting with lobbyists and juiced insiders before awarding coveted licenses.

And here we are in August 2015- almost 15 years after Nevada voters approved medical marijuana, more than two years after the Legislature finally authorized the retail sale of the drug to registered patients with a doctor's prescription- and no dispensaries are open in Southern Nevada.

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The long-awaited grand opening of Nevada's first medical marijuana dispensary happened Friday morning in Sparks.

More than three dozen people arrived early to wait in line outside the doors of Silver State Relief, snaking their way along the building and into the parking lot. They filled out forms as they waited, eager to purchase the first legal, commercially sold marijuana in the state.

Nevada's first medical marijuana dispensary opens in Reno on July 31, 2015. Andy Barron

"I'm way more emotional than I thought I would be," said Aron Swan, general manager of the dispensary.

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In a recent interview with Yahoo News, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie - - also a presidential candidate - said he wants the justice system to "stop treating the victims of addiction as enemies in a war." He said that the war on drugs has been a failure, and that far too many nonviolent offenders are incarcerated. And we totally agree.

The trouble is, Gov. Christie's logic ends there.

Gov. Christie calls for treatment and not incarceration for nonviolent, addicted offenders, but also says that marijuana (which he calls a "gateway drug") and other drugs should remain illegal, and that if elected president, he would not allow states to decriminalize pot. While Sen. Marco Rubio agrees with Gov. Christie, many of the governor's GOP rivals, including Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, support letting states set their own polices.

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I happened to tune into Sam Shad's interview with Sen. Tick Segerblom on the subject of marijuana, specifically medical marijuana, and why it has taken years to get to where we are today.

Ironically, Nevadans voted in two elections to legalize and provide distribution centers to make medical marijuana available to those who may be helped by this herbal medication. I must admit, I was shocked, and perhaps even mildly amused to learn that distribution stores are ready to do business. Wow! About time-after two years!

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A medical marijuana cardholder has filed a lawsuit alleging Nevada's patient registration system is unconstitutional.

James Parsons' complaint says federal agents raided his house in 2010 after getting his name from a state patient database. He says provisions in the state's medical marijuana laws and the actions of state officials violate his Second and Fifth amendment rights and constitutional right to privacy.

Parsons, whose lawsuit identifies him as a Clark County resident and former Marine, filed the case without an attorney Tuesday in Las Vegas Justice Court. He declined to answer questions Wednesday, saying he planned to have a press conference later.

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Thanks for publishing Robert Sharpe's thoughtful letter: "Privacy, freedom at stake in drug war" (7-15-15).

I'd like to add that many judges and prison wardens have said that 70 to 80 percent of all property crime and violent crime is "drug-related."

Actually almost 100 percent of all so-called "drug-related crime" is caused by drug prohibition policies -- not drugs.

When Coca-Cola contained cocaine instead of caffeine and sold for 5 cents a bottle, the term "drug-related crime" didn't exist. Neither did drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today.

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Editor:

Regarding your July 10 editorial on civil asset forfeiture, vague allegations of drug trafficking don't justify turning protectors of the peace into financial predators. The drug war threatens the integrity of a country founded on the concept of limited government.

Warrantless government surveillance, drug-sniffing dogs in schools and random drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties, while failing at preventing drug use.

The drug war is largely a war on marijuana consumers. Based on findings that criminal records are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents, a majority of European Union countries have decriminalized marijuana. Despite marijuana prohibition and perhaps because of forbidden fruit appeal, lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country.

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A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling should be the final nail in the coffin for the type of drug-interdiction cash seizures that have generated so much bad publicity in Northern Nevada.

Nobody likes to see the bad guys get away, but even more important is Americans' constitutional right to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.

An Elko County case involving more than $167,000 taken from a Delaware RV during a traffic stop was held up in federal court earlier this year pending a ruling in Rodriguez v. United States. In April, the Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement cannot prolong traffic stops to wait for drug-sniffing dogs to arrive and inspect vehicles when there is no probable cause to do so. Justices said police cannot detain drivers after issuing them a ticket, even if a driver appears "nervous."

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LAS VEGAS (AP) - The top federal prosecutor in Nevada wants to appeal an order to return $167,000 seized from a Hawaii man who was stopped twice on I-80 near Elko but never charged with a crime.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said in a statement this week that his office has asked the solicitor general for authority to challenge U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks' June 12 ruling.

The $167,000 was confiscated from Straughn Gorman in January 2013, but the case could cost the government more than $300,000 because the judge also put the government on the hook to pay attorney fees and costs that Gorman's attorney, Vincent Savarese, said total at least $142,000.

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I am writing in response to "Pot dispensary will not ruin your neighborhood" [Letters, June 17].

Clearly the author of that letter does not understand the concerns of the community residing in the area of Mt. Rose Highway and Thomas Creek Road.

We are opposed to a marijuana dispensary in that specific location. The proposed location is less than 1 mile from Galena High School and Hunsberger Elementary School.

No community impact study was done to inform parents and homeowners that live in the neighborhood of the proposed facility. We were not given any notice of the marijuana dispensary being considered for this location before the license was granted.

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A federal judge recently sentenced a 31-year-old man with no criminal record to life in prison for running a website.

Russ Ulbricht ran the Silk Road on the dark net. Many don't know that Google-style search engines only sweep 30 percent of the internet. The other 70 percent is accessible on The Onion Router (TOR) through a freely downloadable browser. The dark web is perfectly legal, used for legitimate research purposes. The dark web is anonymous, as the digital packets are rerouted over and over through servers in multiple nations.

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Police, Federal Agents Disrupt Pot Education Convention

Las Vegas police and federal agents arrested 10 people and seized drugs over the weekend at Hempcon, a marijuana education convention at the Cashman Center.

People who were there described seeing police dogs around the event, as well as officers on the roof of the building, apparently looking for people smoking marijuana.

The arrests outraged event organizers, and some attendees said they left medical marijuana patients frightened as Nevada's first legal dispensaries prepare to open.

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Investors See Opportunity in Decriminalization, Treatment

Richard Branson has brought his war on the war on drugs to Las Vegas. Branson, the charismatic founder of the Virgin Group, was a panelist at a session debating U.S. drug policy at the Starbridge Capital Alternatives Conference, a high-level investment event that brings in top names in business, government and politics to discuss issues leading to wise investment decisions.

Among the big names at the four-day conference at Bellagio that ends today were former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke; energy entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens; retired CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus; political operatives James Carville and Karl Rove; actor Michael J. Fox; retired tennis professional Andre Agassi; and billionaire entrepreneuradventurer Branson, who produced a documentary "Breaking the Taboo" on drug addiction.

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I am astonished at the uncompromising ignorance some people exhibit while speaking (or writing) on a topic they know absolutely nothing about. The subject matter of concern to me here is marijuana, and more specifically, the plant itself. The hemp plant has been around for millennia, and has provided humans with benefits still being discovered to this very day.

The discovery of the New World was powered by hemp sails and rigging. With modern technology, we are learning we can use the hemp plant in many ways to take advantage of this natural gift of the earth. Hemp seed, as an example, is nature's perfect food product, containing proteins and essential fatty acids. Only recently have we talked about the medicinal benefits contained in marijuana. Some state legislators have passed laws legalizing medical marijuana, including our very own state of Nevada. Others have begun the process of legalizing the plant for recreational use.

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Labs, Dispensaries Have Been in Limbo for Months Awaiting Policy

After spending months in limbo, waiting for the state to hash out rules for testing medical marijuana, laboratories might be able to get to work soon. That moves patients one step closer to the first legal sales in dispensaries.

A state health official said Tuesday that all the rules are in place for labs to start testing marijuana. But in a sign of how confusing the process has been, that news came as a surprise to a dispensary owner and a lab scientist, who both expected a longer wait for the state to finalize some rules.

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Nevada Lawmakers Get Up-Close View of Colorado's Pot Business

With medical marijuana already here and full legalization on the ballot in 2016, a group of Nevada legislators took a trip to Denver last weekend to get an up close look at how the state is handling its booming cannabis market.

What they saw was impressive, according to Sen. Patricia Farley, R-Las Vegas, who said Nevada would do well by mirroring the laws and regulations Colorado has put into place.

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Re "Borders on slander" (Letters to the Editor, April 2):

It may seem odd to some individuals that I am hardly a "member of the elite liberal progressive class," as, apparently, some folks on the right (and please forgive me for using labels here, but I do so merely to make a point) have labeled me. Evidently, I have given this impression because I questioned the role of Congress. Seriously, I believed they represented the people. The former and current Congress may not be the worst in our history, but it's darned close. The manner in which some members of Congress conduct themselves is beyond shameful. Spending so much energy on vilifying the sitting president is schoolyard bullshit. You may get standing ovations and cheers from the part of your constituency that really hates the president, but you're not getting anything done. And that is why sitting members of Congress should be working to get things done! It is called compromise, folks. It's finding some common ground somewhere and working on it. Perhaps some of Sen. Dean Heller's fellow senators can take a cue from our GOP senator from Nevada. He's far from perfect, but at least he tries to get things done for his home state and for his country. We "liberals" can applaud him for that.

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The seeds of a health care revolution in drug and alcohol treatment are just starting to germinate. The outcome is far from certain, but, with billions on the table, an epic battle is percolating.

Let's start with the convoluted back story. A hundred-plus years ago, drug and alcohol problems were generally viewed as moral weakness and/or personality defect confined to working class Caucasians or ethnic minorities. Alcohol and drug use was legal in America.

Then, the temperance movement produced alcohol Prohibition in 1920.

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Can Nevada's Newest Crop Weather a Record Drought?

In late March, Sierra Wellness Connection became Nevada's first commercial medical-marijuana business to get state approval. Less than a week later, the fledgling company led by former University of Nevada, Reno president Joe Crowley also got the City Council's unanimous nod to sell the medicine. As of press time, Sierra Wellness and Certified Ag Lab of Sparks were the only two such establishments to clear the final state hurdle, said Pam Graber with the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health. More are coming, of course, as hundreds of companies received provisional certifications last year.

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