Next week, Nevada will have the chance to join four other states to allow legalized recreational marijuana for adults.

Ballot Question 2 would not only allow Nevadans age 21 and older to have easier access to pot, it could provide more than $1.1 billion in tax revenue and economic activity over the course of the proposed law's initial eight years, according to a study by Las Vegas-based RCG Economics.

Armen Yemenidjian, president and CEO of the three Essence Cannabis Dispensaries in the Las Vegas Valley, is ready for the change.

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Discussions of legalizing the use of marijuana often revolve around the contention that pot functions as a "gateway drug" - a substance that can lead individuals to abuse "harder" substances like cocaine or heroin.

That assertion, which has been raised in connection with Nevada's Question 2 on the Nov. 8 ballot, has some support in the scientific community, but experts say a lack of definitive research on the subject leaves plenty of room for argument.

"There's not enough evidence to prove (it) one way or another," said Nathan Gillespie, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University who has done research on drug use and genetics.

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Question 2 before Nevada voters asks whether marijuana should be fully legal and widely available for recreational, commercial sale. Our state has already decriminalized the drug for small quantity possession, and marijuana is now legally available for medical use.

Question 2 is a 13-page initiative written by the commercial marijuana industry. It's an "insiders business plan" to benefit Big Marijuana "potpreneurs." The initiative would create a new state bureaucracy in the Department of Taxation to regulate the drug and set wholesale prices. It gives monopoly powers to existing medical marijuana retailers and liquor wholesalers, while criminalizing Nevada citizens growing marijuana within 25 miles of proponents' pot shops.

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Residents in Nevada and four other states - California, Massachusetts, Maine and Arizona - will learn sometime Tuesday night whether voters have approved ballot measures to legalize marijuana. And as multiple recent reports have noted, states that take this leap will almost assuredly experience unintended trickle-down consequences, particularly for young people.

For instance, David Kroll, writing for Forbes.com on California's Proposition 64, reported this past week on the work of Michael Taffe, a drug abuse researcher at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. In an informative Facebook post addressing many of his concerns with Prop 64 and similar initiatives in other states, Dr. Taffe notes that 5 to 6 percent of high school seniors in America already use marijuana daily. Further, Dr. Taffe points out that marijuana has a conditional probability of dependence - an addiction rate - of 9 percent, more than twice that of alcohol, which is at 4 percent.

Dr. Taffe also rightly notes that the scope of the addiction depends on how many people are using it - a number certain to increase with marijuana legalization.

[end]

When Tommy Chong served nine months in prison for selling bongs, prison executives used him and other famous prisoners as sightseeing stops on metaphorical map-of-the-stars tours for visiting dignitaries.

Similarly, Charles Manson and Bernie Madoff were sightseeing stars in their prisons, said Chong, who will be in Vegas on Election Day to promote Nevada's legal marijuana Question 2.

"People come to visit the prisons - people in the industry - and when I was in there, they'd trot me out. They'd come and visit their famous prisoners," Chong said.

"They would give tours," he added. "If you're a celebrity, you get treated very well, because you're a draw."

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I oppose Question 2, the measure on the ballot to approve recreational use and possession of certain amounts of marijuana.

Historically, in response to criminal justice and health issues, Nevadans have given marijuana policy a thoughtful and careful examination. Policy makers have reduced penalties for possession of small quantities of the drug and built a framework for legal distribution of medical marijuana to patients who have a recommendation from a licensed physician.

Now, Question 2 asks Nevadans to legalize marijuana for recreational use. We should vote no on Question 2 for many reasons.

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In response to the Sunday commentary, "High-risk proposal": Cannabis prohibitionist, Dr. R.J. Petrella, echoed the prohibitionist government's lies, half-truths and propaganda right on queue but added enough additional discredited claims to make one believe that re-legalizing the plant equates to the end of the world.

I'd like to say Colorado voters heard it all before and voted, but Dr. Pertella went over the top in a way that is just plain preposterous.

One example is his rants about cannabis and cancer, which is interesting since cannabis has never caused a single case of cancer in more than 5,000 years of documented use. Compare that to cigarettes, which kill more than 1,000 Americans daily.

A sane or moral argument to continue punishing responsible adults who choose to use the relatively safe, God-given plant simply doesn't exist.

Stan White

Dillon, Colo.

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Editor:

All Huff And Puff (Oct. 20, 2016) was one of the more informative articles I've read regarding RE-legalizing cannabis (marijuana) in Nevada. Colorado citizens heard all the cannabis prohibitionist rhetoric and voted and every subsequent poll indicates citizens continue supporting the end of cannabis prohibition. There is every reason to believe when Nevada citizens end cannabis prohibition, you will not look back with regret either.

It's time for America to stop caging responsible adults for using the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis. A sane argument to continue cannabis prohibition doesn't exist.

Stan White

Dillon, Colorado

[end]

Regarding ending cannabis prohibition, as referenced in the Oct. 19 Bonanza article, "Election 2016: To legalize marijuana in Nevada or to not legalize," Colorado citizens heard it all before and voted.

Every subsequent poll indicates citizens continue supporting the end of cannabis prohibition and there is every reason to believe when Nevada (and California) citizens end cannabis prohibition, you will not look back with regret either.

To expose just one aspect of the farce: When, "Seventy-five percent of people in the Washoe County rehab centers are in there for marijuana abuse," voters should ask, how many are there who honestly need rehab vs. those who are there to avoid going to jail?

Then ask Mr. Jason Guinasso, "For whose benefit?"

It's time for America to stop caging responsible adults for using the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis. A sane argument to continue cannabis prohibition doesn't exist.

Stan White

Dillon, Colorado

[end]

Tom Hellmann ("Pot OK Would Be "Pouring Gasoline On The Fire," Voices, Oct. 21) is mistaken to believe Colorado has "regrets" regarding cannabis (marijuana) and our end to cannabis prohibition. Every subsequent poll indicates citizens continue supporting the end of that quagmire. There is every reason to believe when Nevada citizens end cannabis prohibition, citizens will not look back with regret either.

It's time for America to stop caging responsible adults for using the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis.

Stan White, Dillon, Colorado

[end]

On Question 2: We're considering here a plant that has been used in every recorded civilization and I can't really believe that the U.S. of A. got onto a magic secret in 1930 that made it worthwhile to destroy lives for its possession. Even now, in many states, if police confiscate assets in a search, they don't need to return these assets if the case is lost or not pursued. While this often does not include actual plant material, it does often include cash. Legislation encourages state/federal tension.

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Even as a business owner and father of two children, I am convinced that legalizing cannabis is the right choice for Nevada. TV ads decrying the dangers of edible cannabis for children miss the point: Cannabis-related hospitalizations in Colorado still make up a tiny fraction of total poisonings and have led to no reported deaths.

Legalization will not change child endangerment laws or the importance of responsible parenting. And arguments that legalization will affect older children's educational development also ring hollow.

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Question 2 before Nevada voters asks whether marijuana should be fully legal and widely available for recreational commercial sale. Our state has already decriminalized the drug for small quantity possession and marijuana is now legally available for medical use.

Question 2 is a 13-page initiative written by the commercial marijuana industry. It's an "insiders business plan" to benefit Big Marijuana "potpreneurs." Passage would create a state government-run marijuana program, transforming the Department of Taxation into a large, expensive bureaucracy. It will give monopoly powers to existing medical marijuana retailers and liquor wholesalers, while criminalizing Nevada citizens growing marijuana within 25 miles of proponents' pot shops.

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Nevadans will vote in coming days on legalizing the recreational use of marijuana here, as four other states have already done.

Both advocates and opponents have made strident cases to support their views. However, the two camps cite data that appears to conflict. We have mixed views on this initiative, but we are interested in informational clarity.

So, we were delighted recently to read an analysis of the objective trends by Harvard economics professor Jeffrey Miron and his co-authors. They use recent data from Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska to dispel many myths propagated by both sides.

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Question 2 before Nevada voters asks whether marijuana should be fully legal and widely available for recreational commercial sale. Our state has already decriminalized the drug for small quantity possession and marijuana is now legally available for medical use.

Question 2 is a 13-page initiative written by the commercial marijuana industry. It's an "insider's business plan" to benefit big marijuana "potpreneurs". Passage would create a state government-run marijuana program, transforming the Department of Taxation into a large, expensive bureaucracy.

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NCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - An 8-member panel of students and experts spent two hours Tuesday night exploring the individual views of those in favor of and against Nevada's Measure 2 - which proposes the legalization of marijuana for recreational use for those 21 and older.

Dr. Andrew Whyman hosted the forum at Sierra Nevada College, opening up the discussion with topics surrounding marijuana about stigma, social justice, criminal justice, how it impacts youth, regulation, legislation and more.

As for panel members, despite their titles, some said they came on their own accord, and thus their views do not represent the views of their organizations.

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This is the fourth in a series on Drugs and Drug Prohibition. Today's column focuses on cannabis or marijuana.

Marijuana, a remarkably resilient plant, has accompanied mankind's journey in populating the planet from the Neolithic period to the present. Aside from the frozen tundra of the far North, the plant has flourished since the dawn of agriculture over 10,000 years ago.

The stems and stalks provided cloth and cordage; the seeds, protein and fatty acid; the roots, leaves, and flowers used in rituals, as medicinals, and as a euphoriant or recreant.

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Hopefully the people of our state will have enough sense to vote against recreational marijuana. We already have terrible drug problems in this country and this would just be pouring gasoline on the fire. Marijuana may not be addictive per se but if someone is curious enough to try it the first time, many will be curious enough to try something harder later. We are just starting to hear some of the regrets coming out of Colorado and Washington (rime, DUI, health, etc.).

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Opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana in Nevada joined the fight with barely two months left in the election cycle, but they've wasted little time in rolling out a well-funded ad campaign.

Question 2 foes launched their first series of digital and television ads focusing on children's exposure to marijuana and public safety issues.

Their funding came mostly from Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson, whose donations made up $2 million of the $2.1 million raised by Protecting Nevada's Children PAC, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday. The PAC was formed in early September to oppose Question 2, which would allow adults 21 or older to legally purchase and use marijuana in Nevada.

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Two Las Vegas medical marijuana dispensaries have been ranked among the top 25 dispensaries in the United States by a national publication.

Essence Vegas and The Grove were ranked 22nd and 25th, respectively, by Business Insider in a Sept. 20 list of the top marijuana dispensaries selling either recreational or medicinal marijuana. The rankings evaluated more than 500 marijuana facilities across 25 states and the District of Columbia.

The list cited Essence's on-site nurse and quality service as reasons for giving the Las Vegas Boulevard dispensary its top ranking among Silver State dispensaries, while The Grove on Swenson Street earned high marks for offering a signature dispensary joint rolled in gold-plated paper.

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