The ballot initiative to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Nevada is gaining support. Polls are showing the measure now has 50% support from the voters.

"The furor over Question 9 will intensify soon. [White House Drug Czar] Walters said that he plans to travel to Nevada to speak against the measure. But its backers are planning television ads and say they have volunteers ready to go door to door to campaign for its passage."

"Known as Question 9, Nevadans will decide whether to allow adults 21 and older to possess and smoke as much as three ounces of marijuana, simply because they feel like it, with no threat of criminal penalty. Under current state law, anyone caught with that much marijuana -- which authorities say makes roughly 100 joints -- could face four years in prison."

"The November ballot proposal forbids pot smoking in public, or while driving. It also bans marijuana advertising and import of the drug. Nevada would have to grow and distribute its own marijuana through state-licensed outlets, and could tax every sale. Some officials say such a move could be a jackpot worth millions of dollars for the state every year. To become law, voters will have to approve it twice, first in November, then again in 2004."

For more information, visit the Marijuana Policy Project and Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement.

We hear the tv ads will be terrific and are likely to push the measure over the top on election day.