"The Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana (CRCM) today announced it was filing an emergency petition for writ of mandamus in District Court, asking for an injunction to halt the use of tax dollars by public officials to oppose the passage of Question 7.
"County officials, in response, said their actions were entirely appropriate and within the law.
"The Clark County Commission on Sept. 19 unanimously passed a resolution opposing the passage of the question. The board voted after consulting with the District Attorney’s Office to ensure their action complied with state law.
"'The County Commission did not use taxpayer dollars in any substantive fashion to express their views on the marijuana initiative,' board counsel Mary-Anne Miller said. 'The board already had a meeting scheduled for that time, and any time spent on expressing their views was nominal. Further, persons with opposing viewpoints were given equal opportunity to express their views. Since the commissioners were expressing their viewpoint on an issue arguably within their jurisdiction, the requirements of the open meeting law had to be met, and for that reason, the matter was included on the agenda, with appropriate opportunity for opposing viewpoints. This is unlike the situation quoted by the marijuana proponents where a local government spent tax dollars mailing out information that could be construed as advocacy.'"
A September 20, 2006, article in the
Reno Gazette-Journal entitled
"Marijuana initiative faces heavy opposition, poll shows," by Guy Clifton reported that:
"A Reno Gazette-Journal/KRNV News 4 statewide poll of 600 likely voters found across-the-board opposition to Question 7, the Marijuana Initiative, which would allow those 21 and older to legally possess, use and transfer 1 ounce or less of marijuana. It also would regulate sale of marijuana and increase criminal penalties for causing death or substantial bodily harm when driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
"The poll found 55 percent of likely voters against the proposal, 37 percent in favor and 8 percent undecided.
"The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points."
However, a report two days later in the
Las Vegas Gazette-Journal, entitled
"Ballot Initiative: Internal Poll Finds Support," by Molly Ball, said that:
"A ballot initiative to allow Nevadans to possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use has a better chance of passing than most people think, according to a newly released internal poll conducted on behalf of the proposal's backers.
"In the new poll, respondents were read the actual text that will appear on their November ballots. Of the 600 likely Nevada voters interviewed statewide by a respected national polling firm, 49 percent said they would vote yes on the question and 43 percent said no.
"Previously, survey after survey has shown that Nevadans are resistant to a ballot initiative that would, in its words, 'control and regulate marijuana.' But those results, such as a recent Reno Gazette-Journal poll that found 55 percent of likely voters opposed to the measure and just 37 percent in favor of it, were misleading because they asked the wrong question, advocates of the marijuana initiative said.
"Other polls on the initiative have tended to ask whether respondents favored a move to 'legalize' marijuana, a word that doesn't appear in the ballot language, said Neal Levine, campaign manager for the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, the Nevada initiative's backers. The committee is largely supported by the Washington, D.C., based
Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group.
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