-
Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
-
Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!
The Marijuana Policy Project's marijuana regulation initiative is officially on Nevada's 2006 ballot. The initiative would remove all penalties for marijuana use by adults aged 21 and older, as well as create a system for the legal cultivation, distribution, and sale of marijuana to adults.
After a federal judge in January ordered the Nevada government to place MPP's initiative on Nevada's 2006 ballot, the initiative was sent to the state legislature when it convened on February 7. The legislature was then required to consider our proposal and either pass it into law themselves (unamended) within 40 days or place it on the November 2006 (unamended) so Nevadans can vote on it.
On March 10, the legislature debated MPP's initiative ... the first time in years that any state legislature has debated regulating marijuana. The legislature had until March 18 to either pass MPP's proposal or place it on the November 2006 ballot. It took no action, so the initiative now goes on the ballot.
After a federal judge in January ordered the Nevada government to place MPP's initiative on Nevada's 2006 ballot, the initiative was sent to the state legislature when it convened on February 7. The legislature was then required to consider our proposal and either pass it into law themselves (unamended) within 40 days or place it on the November 2006 (unamended) so Nevadans can vote on it.
On March 10, the legislature debated MPP's initiative ... the first time in years that any state legislature has debated regulating marijuana. The legislature had until March 18 to either pass MPP's proposal or place it on the November 2006 ballot. It took no action, so the initiative now goes on the ballot.
About the initiative
About the initiative
If passed by a majority of Nevada voters, the initiative would:
1. eliminate the threat of arrest and jail for adults aged 21 and older who responsibly use and possess up to one ounce of marijuana (which is the equivalent of one-and-a-half packs of cigarettes);
2. regulate the manufacture, taxation, and sale of marijuana, whereby establishments that are licensed to sell tobacco will also be permitted to sell marijuana, provided that they neither sell alcohol nor are within 500 feet of a school or place of worship;
3. earmark half of marijuana-related licensing fees and tax revenues to alcohol and drug treatment and education, with the other half going to the state's general fund;
4. maintain penalties for underage marijuana use, smoking marijuana in public, using or possessing marijuana on school grounds or in prisons, and transporting marijuana across state lines;
5. increase penalties for providing marijuana to minors, as well as for motorists who kill someone while under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or any other substance; and
6. take effect in November 28, 2006, if a majority of Nevada voters pass the initiative in November 2006.
This Initiative would benefit Nevadans in numerous ways. It would:
* Reduce teen marijuana use. In Nevada, 67% of high school students have used marijuana. By contrast, in the Netherlands, where marijuana is sold in regulated, indoor establishments to adults who are carded for age verification, only 28% of teenagers have used marijuana. The Nevada initiative would reduce teen access to marijuana by (1) taking it off the streets and regulating it, and (2) doubling the maximum fine and prison sentence for adults who sell marijuana to children.
* Allow police to focus on serious crimes. By removing marijuana from the criminal market, the initiative would free up police time so police officers can focus on violent crimes, property crimes, and people who drive under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or any other substance. According to the latest FBI statistics, Nevada's violent-crime rate is 7th highest among the 50 states.
* Generate tax revenues for drug education and treatment. The initiative requires that adults who use marijuana legally in the privacy of their homes must obtain their marijuana from legally regulated businesses, thereby generating tax revenues for the state rather than profits for drug dealers. According to a study released by the University of Nevada at Las Vegas in 2002, regulating marijuana would generate $28 million in annual tax revenues. (You can download the study here.) The initiative would earmark half of this money for drug education and rehabilitation programs, which currently receive only $13.5 million annually from the state.
* Break the "gateway" to hard drugs. By taking marijuana out of the hands of drug dealers, the initiative would also reduce the use of hard drugs in Nevada. Currently, adults who obtain marijuana from the criminal market are also exposed to cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, and other drugs. After the November 2006 ballot initiative is passed and implemented, adults who use marijuana will obtain it from regulated, indoor establishments instead of having to resort to the criminal market.
* Make the roads safer. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of alcohol-related auto fatalities in Nevada rose 29% from 2001 to 2002. And 45% of car-crash deaths in Nevada were alcohol-related -- the 10th highest rate in the nation. By liberating the police from having to hunt down marijuana users, the initiative would allow police to spend more time on the roadways to intercept and arrest dangerous drivers, whether they are under the influence of marijuana, alcohol, or any other substance. And, if a motorist kills someone while under the influence of marijuana or any other substance, the initiative doubles the maximum fine and prison sentence for people convicted of such offenses.
Nevada's current marijuana laws are costly, they have failed to prevent teenagers from using marijuana, and they keep police from focusing on DUI and other real crimes. Bringing marijuana into a regulated system will serve all Nevadans well.
About the initiative
If passed by a majority of Nevada voters, the initiative would:
1. eliminate the threat of arrest and jail for adults aged 21 and older who responsibly use and possess up to one ounce of marijuana (which is the equivalent of one-and-a-half packs of cigarettes);
2. regulate the manufacture, taxation, and sale of marijuana, whereby establishments that are licensed to sell tobacco will also be permitted to sell marijuana, provided that they neither sell alcohol nor are within 500 feet of a school or place of worship;
3. earmark half of marijuana-related licensing fees and tax revenues to alcohol and drug treatment and education, with the other half going to the state's general fund;
4. maintain penalties for underage marijuana use, smoking marijuana in public, using or possessing marijuana on school grounds or in prisons, and transporting marijuana across state lines;
5. increase penalties for providing marijuana to minors, as well as for motorists who kill someone while under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or any other substance; and
6. take effect in November 28, 2006, if a majority of Nevada voters pass the initiative in November 2006.
This Initiative would benefit Nevadans in numerous ways. It would:
* Reduce teen marijuana use. In Nevada, 67% of high school students have used marijuana. By contrast, in the Netherlands, where marijuana is sold in regulated, indoor establishments to adults who are carded for age verification, only 28% of teenagers have used marijuana. The Nevada initiative would reduce teen access to marijuana by (1) taking it off the streets and regulating it, and (2) doubling the maximum fine and prison sentence for adults who sell marijuana to children.
* Allow police to focus on serious crimes. By removing marijuana from the criminal market, the initiative would free up police time so police officers can focus on violent crimes, property crimes, and people who drive under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or any other substance. According to the latest FBI statistics, Nevada's violent-crime rate is 7th highest among the 50 states.
* Generate tax revenues for drug education and treatment. The initiative requires that adults who use marijuana legally in the privacy of their homes must obtain their marijuana from legally regulated businesses, thereby generating tax revenues for the state rather than profits for drug dealers. According to a study released by the University of Nevada at Las Vegas in 2002, regulating marijuana would generate $28 million in annual tax revenues. (You can download the study here.) The initiative would earmark half of this money for drug education and rehabilitation programs, which currently receive only $13.5 million annually from the state.
* Break the "gateway" to hard drugs. By taking marijuana out of the hands of drug dealers, the initiative would also reduce the use of hard drugs in Nevada. Currently, adults who obtain marijuana from the criminal market are also exposed to cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, and other drugs. After the November 2006 ballot initiative is passed and implemented, adults who use marijuana will obtain it from regulated, indoor establishments instead of having to resort to the criminal market.
* Make the roads safer. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of alcohol-related auto fatalities in Nevada rose 29% from 2001 to 2002. And 45% of car-crash deaths in Nevada were alcohol-related -- the 10th highest rate in the nation. By liberating the police from having to hunt down marijuana users, the initiative would allow police to spend more time on the roadways to intercept and arrest dangerous drivers, whether they are under the influence of marijuana, alcohol, or any other substance. And, if a motorist kills someone while under the influence of marijuana or any other substance, the initiative doubles the maximum fine and prison sentence for people convicted of such offenses.
Nevada's current marijuana laws are costly, they have failed to prevent teenagers from using marijuana, and they keep police from focusing on DUI and other real crimes. Bringing marijuana into a regulated system will serve all Nevadans well.
Last edited:
