Las Vegas—It shouldn’t be surprising that Nevada is at the center of the latest battle over marijuana legalization. After all, Nevada is home to legalized gambling and prostitution and has long cultivated a live-and-let-live reputation. It would seem an ideal place for advocates to go a step further in their campaign to decriminalize pot.

And yet Nevada’s actions don’t always live up to its reputation. On many issues, Nevadans are extremely conservative, showing overwhelming support for a “protection of marriage” initiative and recently imposing tighter restrictions on exotic dancing.

Nevadans are just as split on the legalization of marijuana. In two recent polls, the state was evenly divided on the question of whether to legalize possession of up to three ounces of the drug. That hasn’t stopped a constitutional amendment to that effect from appearing on the state’s November ballot, and supporters and critics are working furiously to make their case to a highly undecided populace.

The initiative is the product of an aggressive petition drive, sponsored by Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, a local group affiliated with the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington. NRLE volunteers fanned out across the state, gathering 109,000 signatures—a state record—in 40 days to qualify for the ballot. If it passes in November, the question must be approved again in 2004 to go into effect. (Constitutional amendments in Nevada must be approved twice by voters.)

The initiative seeks to alleviate an array of concerns voters might raise. Under the plan, only state-licensed establishments could sell marijuana, and only to adults. Use would be prohibited in public places, and transporting pot out of Nevada would be illegal. Marijuana sales would also be heavily taxed, providing a new revenue source for the perennially cash-strapped state. While advocates have downplayed the parallel, critics have said the initiative could turn Nevada into the Amsterdam of the West.

“Most people say, ‘I don’t care what you do in your own home,’ ” says Billy Rogers, campaign manager for NRLE. “This initiative allows responsible adults to possess marijuana in their own homes, and it prevents irresponsible people from acting irresponsibly.” Rogers says passage of the initiative would put many drug dealers out of business.

Early in the campaign, NRLE thought it had scored a major coup when the Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs came out in support of the initiative. NCOPS President Andy Anderson took an informal poll of his board and declared it supported the proposal, on grounds that police officers do not believe they should be wasting valuable time arresting people possessing small amounts of marijuana. The announcement caused a firestorm in the law-enforcement community: A formal vote of the board later denounced the initiative, and Anderson resigned.

The controversy has also awakened a sleeping giant: Las Vegas police officials and unions, who are organizing a fundraising campaign to fight the initiative. Richard Winget, the No. 2 man in the Las Vegas Police Department, cites numerous reasons for police opposition, including predicted increases in traffic fatalities and auto insurance rates, as well as concerns that increased marijuana use will spur an increase in crime. Winget says convenience stores in Nevada are constantly caught selling alcohol to minors. “Do we really believe these stores will be more effective at controlling the sale of marijuana?” he asks.

Most important, Winget contends, is that Nevada has already settled this issue. In 2001, the Nevada legislature effectively decriminalized possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, turning what had once been a felony offense into a misdemeanor punishable with a citation. The state also has legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. “We don’t waste our time now booking people for small amounts,” Winget says.

Nevada’s initiative has drawn national attention. While Arizona and Ohio are considering easing marijuana possession penalties, Nevada’s initiative is by far the most dramatic U.S. effort to legalize pot. White House Drug Czar John Walters has condemned the plan, suggesting its passage would make Nevada a “vacation spot for drug traffickers.” Walters has announced plans to campaign against the initiative across Nevada. NRLE’s Rogers responds that Nevadans, stung repeatedly by Washington do-gooders and meddlers, are “sick and tired of the federal government stepping in and telling them what to do.” Rogers has challenged Walters to a public debate on the question.

With the anti-marijuana forces aggressively joining the publicity battle, the fate of the initiative is hardly decided. The pro-pot contingent is counting on Nevada’s independent-minded silent majority to make its presence known come November. “Ultimately, education is our strongest weapon,” Rogers says. “If voters know what’s in this initiative, we will win.”