Carson City, NV: A state initiative that would remove the threat of arrest for pot possession was endorsed this week by the state’s largest police organization.
Eldon “Andy” Anderson, president of the Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs, said Tuesday that the organization unanimously backed the initiative because it would free police to spend more time dealing with more significant crimes.
“We feel that our priorities should be changing,” Anderson explained on MSNBC. “[Police] shouldn’t be spending a lot of time making simple marijuana arrests. We should be out there using our time to address more serious incidents. We should free up a little more of our time.”
The Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs endorsed the proposal by a 9-0 vote. The 3,000-member organization represents 65 percent of the state’s street patrol officers.
Nevada’s marijuana initiative seeks to amend the state constitution so that possession of up to three ounces of marijuana by individuals 21 years of age or older would no longer carry any criminal or civil penalty. Public use of marijuana or driving under the influence of pot would continue to be penalized under the proposal.
Additional drug-law reform initiatives will likely be voted on this fall in Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, South Dakota, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC.
For more information, please contact NORML at (202) 483-5500.