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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US NV: Nevada To Vote On Making Dope Legal
ccguide Wednesday 09 Oct 2002 Pubdate: Tue, 8 Oct 2002 Source: Edinburgh Evening News (UK) Contact: Copyright: 2002 The Scotsman Publications Ltd Website: http://www.edinburghnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1626 Author: Stuart Reid Cited: Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement ( www.nrle.org ) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?162 (Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?163 (Question 9 (NV)) NEVADA TO VOTE ON MAKING DOPE LEGAL VOTERS in Nevada are to decide next month whether to become the first state in the United States to legalise marijuana. An initiative appearing on the state ballot asks the public to decriminalise possession of less than three ounces of cannabis for people over the age of 21 and to require state legislators to devise a regulatory system for its production and sale. Under Nevada law, even if the measure is passed, it would have to be approved by voters again in 2004 to become a constitutional amendment. But supporters are hopeful that it will be approved, marking a startling break from federal drug laws that prohibit all marijuana possession. The petition that placed the initiative on the ballot garnered more than 109,000 signatures or nearly double the required number. A September 26 poll in Las Vegas showed a majority of voters supporting the measure, with 55 per cent in favour and 43 per cent opposed. In addition, the group promoting the constitutional change, Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, or NRLE, is flush with money - it has almost UKP330,000 on hand - and has run TV ads since September 12. Opponents, who waited until September 27 to officially form Nevadans Against Legalising Marijuana, may not even have money for mailing, according to the group's members. Opponents are appalled that the largest newspaper in the state, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, endorsed the measure as a means to "bring compassion and common sense to drug laws" and that Republican Governor Kenny Guinn has refused take sides. But even if the measure is passed, it is believed federal agents will still investigate and prosecute drug dealers, so anyone who sells marijuana - even under a state law permitting it - would remain in jeopardy under federal law. Pro-marijuana activists acknowledge that they targeted Nevada because of its libertarian population where voters amended the constitution through votes in 1998 and 2000 to legalise medical marijuana. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk
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