The head of a northern Nevada civil rights group says the incoming state Legislature should legalize marijuana for recreational use instead of leaving the question up to voters in November 2016.
Jeffrey Blanck, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter president in Reno and Sparks, pointed Friday to studies that say blacks are far more likely than whites to face arrest and prosecution for marijuana possession.
Blanck says Nevada lawmakers are elected to be leaders, and should do so.
He says the Legislature should go ahead and support a petition submitted by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.
It calls for licensing and regulating marijuana sellers, growers and distributors — with a 15 percent wholesale tax on sales to raise revenue dedicated to schools.
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