By J.M. Kalil and Frank Forza, Review-Journal staffwriters
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal

The nation’s drug czar visited Las Vegas to again denounce marijuana decriminalization, inspiring the latest round of dual pep rallies for Question 9 opponents and proponents.

John Walters, who oversees all federal anti-drug programs and spending, said he did not come to the valley to wave his finger at Nevadans over the high-stakes ballot initiative.

But the country’s director of drug control policy encouraged Nevada voters to view marijuana — often depicted as relatively benign by hemp advocates — as a gateway drug that can destroy lives and lead pot smokers to use harder drugs.

Half of the nation’s nearly 16 million illicit drug users get high only on marijuana, making it the most abused drug in the United States, according to statistics offered by Walters’ agency.

“We as adults have a responsibility to do better for our children,” Walters told an appreciative crowd of local politicians, police and Question 9 opponents at the WestCare shelter and drug treatment center in downtown Las Vegas. “(Marijuana) causes many other harms. … No community is better off with more drugs.”

It was Walters’ second visit to Las Vegas in the past three months to speak out against the proposal to relax Nevada marijuana laws.

If Nevada voters pass Question 9 in November and again in two years, people 21 and older will be able to legally possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana in their home, but not in vehicles or public places. Use of the drug by minors would remain illegal, as would driving under the influence of marijuana. The drug would be sold in state-licensed smoke shops and taxed.

Currently, possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana in Nevada is a misdemeanor subject to a $600 fine for the first two offenses.

A hostile crowd greeted Walters earlier Thursday when he went to a Las Vegas television studios to tape an interview. A group of about 50 Question 9 supporters gathered outside the KLAS-TV, Channel 8 studio to confront Walters. They held signs reading “Vote Yes Question 9” and chanted “Drug Czar Go Back to D.C.”

Among them was Nevada Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, a paid consultant for the group backing the ballot measure.

“The drug czar doesn’t seem to understand that in the privacy of a home or under the care of a doctor, we have the right to use marijuana,” Giunchigliani told the crowd, which responded with a roar of approval.

Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, chided the federal government for intervening in a state issue, especially under the guise that the move was in the interest of public safety.

“If they cared so much about the safety of Nevadans, then why in the heck did they give us the dump?” the legislator asked, referring to the permanent high-level nuclear waste repository planned for Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Giunchigliani made her comments after leaving the studio, where both she and Walters taped separate appearances on political commentator Jon Ralston’s television show.

Giunchigliani told the crowd outside that Walters had just refused an invitation to debate her on the issue. Several hours later, Walters spokesman Thomas Riley said Walters never received such an invitation.

Walters said he is willing to debate only three people about the country’s marijuana laws: New York financier George Soros, Cleveland insurance executive Peter Lewis and John Sperling of Arizona, founder of the for-profit University of Phoenix.

Walters chose the wealthy trio, he said, because they have been the biggest funders of drug legalization efforts in the United States. The three men have formed an umbrella group that has funded marijuana initiatives in several states, including the medical marijuana initiative that voters passed in Nevada in 1998 and 2000.

“Anyplace, anytime — I will be happy to debate them on this issue,” Walters said at WestCare. “Let’s stop hiding. I’m here. Where are they?”

Sandy Heverly, executive director of STOP DUI, directed her ire at Lewis, chief executive officer of Progressive, the nation’s fourth-largest auto insurer.

She frequently has said that passage of Question 9 would create a dangerous environment on Nevada’s roadways by increasing the number of motorists driving under the influence of drugs.

She called on Nevadans to boycott Progressive.

“Let this company know that we do not want to do business with a company that has no regard for the health and safety of our loved ones,” she said.

Neither Soros nor Sperling has contributed to the marijuana decriminalization effort in Nevada, said Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement spokesman Billy Rogers.

But Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance in New York, which favors legalizing marijuana, said he challenged Walters to a televised debate on the cable network CNN last Sunday. Nadelmann said the nation’s drug czar declined.

“Walters is chickening out of any debate,” Nadelmann said. “John Walters is too scared and too cowardly to debate anyone on this issue.”

Walters, meanwhile, said Question 9 proponents are out-of-staters who have been lying when they say marijuana is relatively harmless. He said that if marijuana is decriminalized in Nevada, it would create an avalanche of demand for new drug treatment programs that could not be met by the state.

Walters made this promise to the Question 9 opponents who have turned to him for help: “We will stand with you. My office intends to challenge this ballot initiative here and in every state where this occurs.”

Note: Walters speaks against ballot measure to legalize small amounts of pot.

Complete Title: Drug Czar’s Visit Prompts Rallies for, Against Question 9