Nevada: Marijuana Legalization Approved for 2016 Ballot

LAS VEGAS, NV – On Monday, Nevada’s Secretary of State Ross Miller approved an official petition to add marijuana legalization to the 2016 November ballot.

The initiative, backed by the Washington, DC – based Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), who placed successful marijuana legalization measures on the ballots in Colorado (2012) and Alaska (2014), is modeled after the measure passed by Colorado voters in 2012. Adults 21 or older would be allowed to legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana, which could be purchased from state regulated retail stores, and would be allowed to cultivate up to twelve cannabis plants in their homes.

MPP’s local affiliate in Nevada, The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, needed to file 102,000 signatures but ultimately filed about 200,000.

Article continues after ad Advertisement

“Nevada joins an ever-growing list of states with marijuana legalization on the 2016 ballot,” says Maj. Neill Franklin (Ret.), executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a law enforcement group opposed to the war on drugs. “Marijuana prohibition has put countless otherwise innocent people in jail and increased street violence just as alcohol prohibition did in the 1920s. Nevada is ready to prioritize public safety and we look forward to seeing their state and others responsibly regulate marijuana so that law enforcement can focus on more pressing crimes.”

The state legislature will first have the option of approving the measure, eliminating the need for the measure to be placed before voters. If lawmakers fail to approve the proposal within the first 40 days of the legislative session, it will be placed on the November 2016 ballot for voters to decide. If lawmakers amend the measure, both the original version and the amended version would be placed on the ballot. If the initiative passes with more than 50 percent of the vote, the one with the larger number of “yes” votes become law.

Because the measure would propose taxing marijuana, the both chambers of the legislature would need to pass the bill with two-thirds approval. The bill, if passed by the legislature, would also need the signature of Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval to become law.

But if the legislature votes the bill down, or if the bill is vetoed by the governor, the measure automatically would be placed on the November ballot the following year, which is the most likely scenario.

Article continues after ad Advertisement

And because the measure would go before voters in a presidential election year, supporters are optimistic that the measure will pass.

“You have a component in the presidential election that would favor us,” Joe Brezney, spokesman for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana, said earlier this year. “You’ll have a bump in young people turning out to vote for a president, and young people overwhelmingly support us.”

In addition to the presidential election, US Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), a supporter of allowing medical marijuana, is also up for re-election in 2016, which could further increase voter turnout.

The full text of the initiative can be read here.

Tags: Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol