An initiative to allow recreational marijuana in Nevada has gained enough signatures to go on the ballot next election.
It was a good election year for supporters of legalizing pot. Voters in two states and Washington D.C. passed laws allowing recreational use of the drug. While it wasn't on the ballot in Nevada, plenty of people plan to vote for it here come 2016.
"We turned in just over 200,000 signatures."
Joe Brezny is the spokesperson for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which is behind the ballot initiative.
"Even in a midterm year, even in a year that's being described as the strongest Republican shift since 1994, we still got nearly double the amount of signatures we need, so the people of Nevada have spoken with a pretty loud voice."
This week, Brezny's organization turned in the signatures to the state for verification with an additional almost 100,000 just for good measure. As long as enough of those check out, the initiative will then go to the legislature next year where lawmakers have the option of passing the bill in the first 40 days of the session. No one really expects that to happen, though, given how controversial it is.
But State Senator Tick Segerblom, a Democrat from Las Vegas, says the GOP dominated legislature would be wise to seriously consider the legislation.
"When marijuana is on the ballot, voters turn out in higher numbers and most of those voters are Democrats. So Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot if they don't consider this bill in the legislature. If it's on the ballot in 2016, that makes it tougher for them to maintain their majorities."
Segerblom has been a major proponent for both medical and recreational marijuana.
Assuming his colleagues in Carson City don't pass the law, it would then be on the ballot in 2016. If it passes, the current system for regulating medical marijuana would stay the same. Meanwhile, the measure proposes a 15% wholesale tax on marijuana for recreational users, with all revenue dedicated to helping fund K – 12 education.
