Marijuana Policy Project

Almost $900,000 of the funds for the ballot question to allow adult Nevadans to possess up to an ounce of marijuana was funneled to the state by the Marijuana Policy Project, a national organization whose goal is to legalize marijuana nationwide.

That angers opponents of Question 7, who say Nevada is being used as a "launching pad" for the group's national goals.

But Neal Levine, campaign manager for the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, CRCM, which got the measure on the ballot, makes no apologies for the financial backing. The Washington group "has been working in the state for five years," he said. "It didn't just put a blindfold on and throw a dart and say we are going to work in Nevada. We are on the ballot because 86,000 Nevadans signed our petition in five weeks."

Records show that 98 percent of the $900,000 in cash and in-kind contributions given CRCM as of Aug. 8 came from the Marijuana Policy Project.

Levine was director of state policies for the project before moving to Southern Nevada last year. The project pays his salary and the shipping and postage costs of the CRCM office. About $16,000 of the money raised was contributed by individuals, including more than 100 Nevadans.

Project officials say they started their campaign in Nevada because they saw the state moving from some of the toughest marijuana laws in the country to a more tolerant approach.

Possession of the drug, once a felony, was reduced to a misdemeanor in 2001. And the Legislature later implemented a medical marijuana program that was supported by voters.

"We wouldn't start a campaign anywhere without being reasonably sure it has a chance of passing," said Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Bruce Mirkin. "We saw what was happening in Nevada. I'm sure we did some polling. We saw the open-mindedness among Nevadans for change."

Todd Raybuck, a Las Vegas police officer and a leading opponent of Question 7, believes Nevadans have had their fill of the organization and its never ending effort to legalize marijuana in Nevada. Nevadans rejected a previous ballot question that would have legalized possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana.

"They have spent more than $4 million in Nevada since 2002," he said. "At the end of the day, Nevada voters won't be fooled. The fact is when it comes to marijuana what happens in Nevada won't stop here. If Question 7 passes they will go to other states. They are using Nevada as a launching pad to legalize marijuana throughout the country."

A poll conducted for the Review-Journal in mid-September found 42 percent of residents back Question 7, while 51 percent oppose it and 7 percent are undecided.

If it passes, the Nevada Department of Taxation would be directed to license pot growers and stores where the drug would be sold. A $45 per ounce state tax would be assessed. Approval of the question would mandate the department to act within 180 days.

Levine said marijuana backers are not using Nevada.

"Why would we pick on Nevada?" he asked. "We wouldn't think poorly of people who agree with us. At the end of the day, the people of Nevada will decide."

The Marijuana Policy Project cannot compete with Office of National Drug Control Policy "Drug Czar" John P. Walters when it comes to raising funds concerning marijuana ad campaigns, Levine added.

He was irked by Walters' appearance earlier this month in Las Vegas and one earlier this year in Reno where the drug czar spoke out against Question 7 and promised a campaign to counter backers of legalization.

Two years ago the project went to court to force Walters to follow state campaign reporting laws. Walters' office contended the drug czar was immune from the reporting law because he was a federal officer acting within the scope of his duties, "including speaking out about the dangers of illegal drugs." The state Supreme Court threw out the case.

Peter Lewis, chairman of Progressive Insurance Corp., is the largest single donor to the Marijuana Policy Project, although the organization has 21,000 individual donors, according to Mirkin.

Lewis, arrested for marijuana use in New Zealand in 2000, has contributed more than $100 million to Princeton University and supported the American Civil Liberties Union and other causes. He was the second largest contributor in 2004 to Democratic organizations.

Billionaire Hungarian financier George Soros has not contributed to the Marijuana Policy Project since 2002, Mirkin said.

Backers of the question maintain that with legalization, people would buy the drug from state-approved stores, ending their ties with drug dealers and taking the criminal element out of marijuana use.

Raybuck said that theory presumes the federal government will sit back and watch as the buds begin to sprout at the state marijuana farms.

Marijuana remains against federal law and Raybuck expects the government will press upon the state to prevent Nevada from becoming a sanctuary for the reefer culture.

"The federal government won't allow it," he said. "They (Question 7 proponents) are misleading people into thinking they can get legal marijuana. They are promising something that isn't going to happen."

Instead of reducing the number of drug dealers, passage of Question 7 only would embolden them, Raybuck said.

Since the federal government would block state regulation and control of marijuana, he said the only way Nevadans could buy the drug is through illegal merchants. Litigation would be inevitable.

"When they can't get it from pot shops, they will have to get it illegally," Raybuck said.