“keep calm and marrY on”
In the lobbyists’ room at the Nevada Legislature, physician James Frye takes time out from pushing for changes in drug laws for some lunch.
war. His credentials are a good match for drug warriors like Richard Gammick, who likes to claim marijuana is not medicine. A resident of Clark County, Frye moved to Carson City full time for this legislature. “There are economic benefits and tax benefits,” he said. “They estimate $560 million in sales in Washington,” one of two states that have made marijuana legal under state law. “They have twice our population, but we have four times their tourists.” He pointed to special events like Seattle’s Hempfest, a three-day gathering that features politics, arts and crafts and concerts and attracts more than a quarter of a million people without the remoteness, discomforts, or inconveniences—or high ticket prices—of Burning Man. “That’s twice the size of the biggest show we have in Las Vegas, the consumer electronics show,” Frye said. People use their credit cards heavily, he added. There are political problems associated with marijuana legalization that surpass even those involving marriage equality. No matter what states do, marijuana will remain illegal under federal law, and state legislators are nervous about taking Nevada over that line. In California, legal medical use led to a thriving pot shop industry until U.S. attorneys—Justice Department prosecutors who act for the federal government— launched a campaign against the shops, rupturing the policy of President Obama, who had indicated he would not buck local sentiment. “What I’m not going to be doing is using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue simply because I want folks to be investigating violent crimes and potential terrorism [instead],” Obama said in Oregon in 2008. “We’ve got a lot of things for our law enforcement officers to deal with.” But Obama, likely fearing comparisons to the U.S. attorneys scandal that afflicted his predecessor, has not reeled in the California prosecutors. The U.S. attorney in Nevada at the moment is Daniel Bogden, one of the seven Bush prosecutors who were removed from office for what appeared to be political reasons, triggering the scandal. He was reinstated after President Obama took office. In a report on his office activities
in 2011, Bogden wrote, “Eleven defendants were convicted and sentenced for unlawfully distributing marijuana in Las Vegas through the operation of purported medical marijuana businesses, which are not recognized under Nevada law. The defendants included marijuana activist Pierre Werner, also known as Dr. Reefer, who was sentenced in November to 41 months in prison, and John Youngblood, of Los Angeles, owner of ‘The Happiness Consultants,’ who was sentenced in October to 21 months in prison. Other businesses named in the cases included THC, the Nevada Compassionate Center, LV Fingerprinting, and Organic Releaf.”
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Golden State/Silver State But California and Nevada are not legally analogous. California provided for marijuana dispensaries for medical cases. Nevada did not. So these Bogden activities may not be a good guide to what would happen under state legalization. Bogden’s use of the phrase “which are not recognized under Nevada law” may well indicate that he is complying with the president’s policy and respecting state practice. Nevada legislators, after all, failed to provide for a source of supply for patients. That phrase may well indicate that Bogden would not prosecute if marijuana shops were recognized under Nevada law, though he did not respond specifically to an inquiry along those lines. In addition, he said the Las Vegas dispensaries he prosecuted were not medical dispensaries. His office’s investigation indicated they were simply selling marijuana, without respect to prescriptions or patient cards. What he and other U.S. attorneys really need, Bogden said, is new guidance from the Obama administration to reflect recent legal changes outside the medical issue. The guidance they received from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in 2009, in a document drafted by deputy attorney general David Ogden, said federal prosecutors “should not focus federal resources in your states on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”
2010. Marriage equality is “not probably one (The memo can be read at http://blogs.justice. of the things that would jump in there [Target gov/main/archives/192.) 2010],” Alvey said. Bogden is following that policy. But events Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki agreed, also noting have eclipsed the memo. Medical marijuana that state promotion is aimed principally at helpis no longer the only thing at issue in local ing the small counties since the large counties sentiment. States are decriminalizing and even are promoted by the tourism industry itself and legalizing outright, not just in medical cases. local agencies. Bogden said he and other U.S. attorneys Marketing marriage equality and legal have been waiting for some guidance from marijuana should not, of course, be a challenge Holder that has never come. Specifically, they to a state with Nevada’s history. But oddly, the need to know whether the Obama administration state is at something of a disadvantage in going is going to go after Colorado and Washington after what bluenoses consider vice. The state under the supremacy clause of the U.S. has been trying for respectability among the Constitution to try to shut down legal marijuana states for so long that the mindset of some of its in those states. officials tends to be very cautious, so much so Without having that updated guidance, that they think in terms of marketing its skiing federal prosecutors around the nation are uncereven before, say, the state’s longtime gambling tain how to handle the marijuana cases that pop industry. The state never got into promoting up under decriminalization or legalization—and small county prostitution, much less the cancer are anxiously waiting. panacea and youth elixir that were made legal in “I think that’s what they’ve done in Colorado Nevada in the 1970s (see sidebar). So the and Washington,” Bodgen said. “Those are state may simply leave promotion two very frustrated U.S. attorneys.” of marriage equality and mariThere is some urgency to juana to the private sector. Nevada state lawmakers Promoting these doing something about activities is a ticklish marijuana in Nevada. proposition. Marketing A court challenge to them is not exactly the grow-your-own like selling hiking provisions in the law or fishing or even is pending before gambling. Lt. Gov. the Nevada Supreme Krolicki was taken Court. It’s the only aback when asked how place in Nevada law the state might handle where patients are chuck alvey the two new fields. required to produce their Economic development “I haven’t even given own medications. State consultant any thought to how it might Judge Donald Mosley overbe done,” he said. “I think we turned the law, calling it absurd need to wait and see what comes out and ridiculous: “It is apparent to [Mosley] that the statutory scheme set out for the of this [legislative] session. It may not come up at all.” lawful distribution of medical marijuana is either Less nervous about these things is lobbyist poorly contemplated or purposely constructed and Las Vegas public relations person William to frustrate the implementation of constitution“Billy” Vassiliadis, and no wonder. His agency ally mandated access to the substance.” If the handled the famous “What happens in Vegas” Supreme Court overturns the grow-your-own campaign. rule after the Legislature goes home for the year, “Well, marriage equality I don’t think is it could easily force a special session to get a ticklish per se because Las Vegas has been handle on an unregulated situation. marketing to the LBGT community for, gee, If the trend of states making marijuana 15 years, probably, maybe longer,” Vassiliadis legal continues, at some point the volume of said. “We have a significant sales effort. We commerce unleashed by popular sentiment will have group meetings there. Vegas is listed as overwhelm federal law enforcement resources. one of the most LBGT-friendly communities in But that time is not yet here. the country. I think five of our major companies have HRC [Human Rights Campaign] certificaHow to market Sin 101 tion as being LBGT friendly. To me, marriage or not, I think the issue is more about a welcoming Alvey, a former chief of the Economic to that community. Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), says that while marriage equality and easier access to marijuana would be helpful to the state’s economy, he also thinks that both would be good supplementary factors, not economic engines. “You could argue these would potentially bring new dollars into the state,” he said. “I don’t know if I’d sell them as an economic development tool, [but] as more removing of an impediment to some economic income. … It’s not a bad thing. I don’t think it’d be a centerpiece.” They are probably not the kind of things that would find their way into establishment economic development strategies produced by the state executive branch or private economic development outfits. In 2006, for instance, Lobbyists Billy Vassiliadis, left, and George Ross huddle in a legislative hallway. EDAWN pulled together input from business leaders and government that it called Target
“If somebody has a same-sex marriage phobia, they’re going to have that view regardless.”
