vote to legalize pot in nevada in november

:rasta: Nevada
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Legalization Backers Urge Voters to Support Proposal on November Ballot

The Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana opened its office in Las Vegas on Monday, officially kicking off its second statewide campaign to legalize possession of the weed by adults.

The group's goal is to get voters to approve a measure in November that would legalize possession of up to one ounce of pot for anyone 21 and older in Nevada.

"This will put it into a tightly regulated tax and control market for people who want to buy it," said Neal Levine, campaign manager. "It's taking it out of the schoolyards and putting it underneath the watchful eye of state government."

About 15 volunteers and staffers make up the Nevada campaign committee affiliated with the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington D.C., attended. Several of them said Tuesday that they believe Nevadans ultimately will agree that regulation of marijuana is a safer alternative than forcing users to drug dealers.

"I'm not in favor of cocaine or coke or -- God! methamphetamine, it's terrible -- but cannabis has been around for thousands of years," said 45-year-old Jack Roberto, one of those who will be working on behalf of the legalization effort.

So far, members of the group said, they're finding supporters at Las Vegas' First Friday arts festival and at college campuses.

If voters approve the measure, the state Department of Taxation would then set up a system to issue licenses to marijuana farms and businesses to sell the drug.

The initiative also would double the maximum penalty for vehicular manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or any drug and would double the penalty for giving or selling marijuana to a minor. Advertisements on the sale of legal marijuana would be illegal, and distributors would not be allowed to sell pot within 500 feet of schools or places of worship.

The language differs from a ballot initiative that failed in 2002 with only 39 percent of the vote. That initiative would have legalized three ounces.

"We've been working on this initiative now going on five years. We crafted it in a way we think appeals to all Nevadans," Levine said.