Medical marijuana ballot question qualifies for Nevada ballot

CARSON CITY, Nev. - An investigation has qualified a medical marijuana proposal - seemingly up in smoke for the lack of just 43 signatures - for Nevada's November ballot.

Secretary of State Dean Heller said Monday the investigation by his office revealed a mathematical error by Nye County in counting names, and improper rejection of some signatures there and in Lyon County.

When the signatures were added back in, Heller said the proposal wound up with a 33-vote margin in the two rural counties. That includes 18 extra names in Nye and a 15-signature cushion in Lyon.

The investigation was conducted after Nevadans for Medical Rights and Americans for Medical Rights appealed following Heller's earlier rejection of the question.

Advocates of the plan submitted 74,466 signatures on their petition, seemingly far above the minimum statewide total of 46,764 signatures for any petitions seeking a spot on November's ballot.

But Nevada law requires that the total must include 10 percent of the registered voters in 13 of Nevada's 17 counties. Signatures were gathered only in the minimum 13, and the proponents couldn't afford to lose a single county.

Before the investigation was conducted, Heller had concluded the proposal was seven signatures short in Lyon and 36 names shy in Nye.

Heller noted the signature verification process that resulted in the reversal marked the first time that's happened since the appeal process was added to Nevada law in 1993.

"In this entire process ... two principles stand without question," Heller said. "The first is the right to petition. The second is that the end result be valid."

The medical marijuana initiative would let people, on the advice of physicians, use marijuana for curing or relieving pain in a number of illnesses such as cancer and AIDS. Minors would have to receive permission from their parents and the doctor.

A registry of patients authorized to use marijuana for medical purposes would be available to police if they needed to verify a claim that it's being legally used by someone.

The proposal needs voter approval this November and again in November 2000 before it could take effect.

The move in Nevada was started by members of the same group that launched a successful 1996 medical marijuana petition in California. But a big legal battle developed over distribution through "cannabis clubs" in that state.

However, the Nevada advocates had said the problems that occurred in California wouldn't happen here.

And even though Nevada's laws against marijuana are much harsher than California's, the advocates think voters will support the initiative because Nevadans are so protective of individual rights.

archive