Yes: 44%; No: 56%
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Frequently Asked Questions About Nevada’s Marijuana Initiative


Why should I vote for the marijuana initiative (Question 7) this November?

Question 7 provides a sensible alternative to Nevada's current marijuana laws, which do not work. Why do we say our laws don't work? Because anybody who wants to use marijuana currently is. What we're proposing is removing marijuana from the criminal market -- where it finances the activities of violent gangs and drug dealers -- and putting marijuana into a tightly regulated and controlled market, where we can tax it and place sensible safeguards on its sale.

Drug dealers don't card, but once Question 7 becomes law, everyone who sells marijuana will.


What does Question 7 do?

Question 7 would allow for the possession and sale of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults ages 21 and older in the state of Nevada. By removing marijuana from the criminal market, Question 7 takes money out of the hands of violent gangs and drug dealers and taxes it. Half of the tax money would fund state-sponsored alcohol and drug treatment, while the other half would be earmarked for the general fund, where it can be used for education, fixing the roads, and other expenses the state faces.

Question 7 institutes reasonable safeguards on who may purchase marijuana and how marijuana is sold: Only state-licensed shops will be able to sell marijuana. The shops cannot be located within 500 feet of a school or house of worship. No place that sells alcohol will be allowed to sell marijuana -- nor would gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, casinos, or dance halls, and you’d have to be 21 years of age or older and show valid ID to even enter a shop. Finally, Question 7 doubles the penalties for giving or selling marijuana to a minor, and it doubles the maximum penalties for killing someone while driving under the influence of marijuana, alcohol, or any other drug.


How does Question 7 appear on the ballot?

Question 7 reads as follows:

STATE QUESTION NO. 7
Amendment to Title 32, 40 and 43 of the Nevada Revised Statutes

Shall Titles 32, 40 and 43 of the Nevada Revised Statutes be amended in order to allow and regulate the sale, use and possession of one ounce or less of marijuana by persons at least 21 years of age, impose licensing requirements on marijuana retailers and wholesalers, allow for the sale of marijuana by licensed marijuana retailers and wholesalers, impose taxes and restrictions on the wholesale and retail sale of marijuana, and to increase the criminal penalties for causing death or substantial bodily harm when driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol?


Is Question 7 for medical marijuana?

No, Question 7 is about taking the sale of small amounts of marijuana to adults out of the hands of violent gangs and drug dealers and putting it into a tightly regulated market. However, even though the state allows patients to possess marijuana, it does not provide a legal and safe way for patients to obtain it.

Although Question 7 is not specifically geared toward patients, it will give them a safe way to obtain a consistent supply of their medicine by setting up a regulated system of state-licensed marijuana retail shops. Currently, state-registered medical marijuana patients are forced to resort to the criminal market to obtain their medicine.


Will Question 7 increase teen access to marijuana or send the wrong message to children?

That’s a reasonable concern. But Question 7 does not make it easier for teens to get marijuana, and it does not send the wrong message to children. It’s a fact that our current laws don’t work. Right now, anyone who wants marijuana can get it -- no matter how young they are. Under the current system of prohibition, 86% of high school seniors admit to the federal government that they find marijuana easy to obtain ... a figure that has remained nearly constant over the past 30 years. Here in Nevada, nearly half of high school seniors admit to having tried marijuana, and one in five admit to using it habitually.

Under Question 7, we'll know who is selling marijuana and whom they’re selling it to. You’d have to be an adult aged 21 or older with a valid ID to even enter retail establishments that sell marijuana. Also, Question 7 would prohibit any establishment from being within 500 feet of a school -- and it doubles the penalty for giving or selling marijuana to a minor. The state of Nevada has undeniably succeeded in reducing teen smoking through the We Card program. There is no reason to think that a similar -- and even more restrictive -- program for marijuana would not have similar success. Drug dealers don’t card.


Won’t Question 7 mean more stoned drivers on the road?

Anybody who wants to use marijuana is already doing so because our current laws are a complete failure. It’s silly to believe that someone who isn’t using marijuana because it’s illegal would suddenly start smoking marijuana once Question 7 passes and then ignore the DUI laws. However, if someone is reckless enough to get behind the wheel intoxicated, Question 7 punishes that person by doubling the current penalties for killing someone while driving under the influence of marijuana, alcohol, or any other drug. Our campaign is completely opposed to anyone who drives intoxicated, and we believe they should be severely punished if they do.


Is the driving-under-the-influence provision too strict?

Question 7 increases the maximum penalty only for people who kill someone while driving under the influence. It does not increase the minimum penalty. We firmly believe that anyone who drives under the influence of marijuana, alcohol, or any other drug should be punished. And anyone who kills someone while driving impaired should be punished severely.


Won't Question 7 make it illegal to drive if you've used marijuana within the past 30 days?

No. Question 7 does not create a law that criminalizes sober drivers. Unfortunately, that law is already on the books in Nevada. Question 7 cannot fix every bad law in the state. But we hope that Question 7 will bring attention to this law and that the legislature will pass a law that accurately measures marijuana intoxication.


Is marijuana a gateway to harder drugs?

The gateway theory is just a myth made up by prohibitionists to justify making something illegal that is less harmful than alcohol. According to a recent study commissioned by the British Parliament, "the gateway theory has little evidence to support it despite copious research." According to the Institute of Medicine (in a report commissioned by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy), "There is no evidence that marijuana serves as a stepping stone [to other drugs] on the basis of its particular physiological effect." To put it simply, if you ask hard drug users if they’ve used marijuana, it’s not surprising that they have. But the vast majority of marijuana users do not move on to use hard drugs. Otherwise, we would have nearly 100 million people in this country who use hard drugs.


Won’t Question 7 allow people to have too much marijuana?

Question 7 allows the sale and possession of only a small amount of marijuana -- limited to no more than an ounce, the same amount patients are allowed to possess under Nevada’s medical marijuana law. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the government agency that supplies marijuana to federally approved medical marijuana patients, one ounce equals roughly 31 marijuana cigarettes -- or the equivalent of a pack-and-a-half of tobacco cigarettes.


Where will the marijuana stores be located?

Question 7 contains sensible safeguards that restrict who can buy marijuana, who can sell it, and where they can sell it. Only state-licensed shops will be able to sell marijuana, and they cannot be located within 500 feet of a school or house of worship. Also, no place that sells alcohol will be allowed to sell marijuana -- nor would gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, casinos, or dance halls. Finally, you’d have to be an adult aged 21 or older with a valid ID to even enter a marijuana store. This is a vast improvement over our current marijuana laws, which have created a violent criminal market where drug dealers sell marijuana wherever they want, to whomever they want.


If Question 7 passes, won’t the feds just come in and shut it down?

It is within Nevada’s power to pass this law. Back when Nevada’s medical marijuana initiative was on the ballot, federal authorities threatened to shut it down if it passed. It’s been in effect now for over five years, and these threats never materialized. In an age when the federal government cannot manage to inspect even five percent of containers coming into this country or adequately respond to a hurricane, one would hope they have better things to do than prosecute Nevadans who are abiding by state law.


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