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newgrowerNY

Senate considers marijuana, kids bill
02.19.07|RGJ.com

Nevada parents who grow a single marijuana plant in their home where children live could be subject to a prison term of up to 15 years, according to a bill that was debated Monday at the Nevada Legislature.

Senate Bill 5, sponsored by state Sen. Joe Heck, R-Las Vegas, would subject parents who grow or sell marijuana in the presence of children to the same penalties as adults who operate methamphetamine labs in front of children.

Lawmakers approved a bill in 2005 that created tough prison sentences for people who cook meth, or manufacture or sell any illegal drugs in the presence of children as a way to fight the meth epidemic that many lawmakers say is sweeping Nevada.

Selling and growing marijuana was left out of the 2005 legislation, so now, Heck wants to include it.

"You are exposing children to dangers when you are selling any illegal substance out of your house or growing any illegal substance out of your house, so you should be held to the higher penalties," Heck told the Senate Human Services and Education Committee.

"If a guy has a couple of (marijuana) plants in there (now), he could be out in a week," Heck said. "But if there is a child present, with this, now he could serve five to 15 years for exposing that child to the dangers of this activity."

Members of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada and the Clark County Public Defenders office said the bill needs to be re-written to exclude parents who grow small amounts of marijuana.

"The way the bill is currently drafted states that someone could be growing marijuana for their personal use and not for the purposes of distributing it, selling it or engaging in drug trafficking and they would be treated as if they were engaged in those activities," said Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

The new law could negatively impact Nevada's overflowing prison population, said Peck, who noted the Nevada Department of Corrections is seeking $300 million over the next two years for prison construction projects.

"No one who is testifying in support of the bill can actually talk about the implications in respect to the incarceration rate," Peck said.

"What we could be doing is shooting fleas with cannons and that is unfortunate," Peck said.

Children who are in the same home where marijuana is grown are in danger, Heck said.

"The very behavior of small children puts them at risk around these materials, including marijuana," Heck said. "As any parent knows, the first place a toddler places anything they find is in their mouth. What if this object is a marijuana plant?"

A representative of the Clark County public defender office said his organization did not advocate the legalization, cultivation or use of marijuana, but the law that provides penalties for parents who cook meth in front of children or sell other illegal drugs in front of children should not be applied to those who may grow a few marijuana plants.

"The reason that statute was written the way is was is because meth labs have a tendency to explode and the chemical components, the fumes and the chemical burns -- the exposure to those -- were the reasons for the greater penalties," said public defender Jason Frierson. "As I read it, this is treating the growth of one marijuana plant similarly with the existence of a meth lab in the presence of children."

Chairman Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, said he would like to pass the bill out of committee but urged, Frierson and Heck to iron out differences.

Reno officials, the Nevada District Attorneys Association, the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association and the Peace Officers Research Association of Nevada spoke in favor of the bill.

"It is our belief that anytime you have drugs and children together, it is a dangerous combination, a dangerous mix," said Kristin Erickson, a Washoe County deputy district attorney speaking for the state association.

Increased penalties for smoking marijuana in front of children are not part of the bill, Heck said.

"We're not trying to lock to up -- as much as I would like to -- somebody for smoking a doobie in front of their kids," Heck said. "We are looking at the person who is selling out of their house and growing out of the house and exposing those children to those dangers."

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Disclaimer: I love to grow

 

UMkiss

I have two kids and I agree that they will pick things up and put them in their mouths. I have to say that more often then not, the items are little plastic toys and things of that nature. If I were to put a bud of marijuana in one of my kids mouths, I can gaurantee that they would spit it right back out. I don't know any kids that make it a habit to eat their household plants, so the idea that a child will open up a closet and eat a marijuana plant is just ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that they would have to injest a lot of marijuana to have any adverse affect. On the other hand, I don't think a child would have to injest a very large amount of meth (or legal alchohol for that matter) to wind up in the hospital. These two things should not be considered the same. What it comes down to is locking adult things away safely.I love how Mr. Heck states that he is not trying to lock anyone up for smoking a doobie in front of a child. Wouldn't you think that exposing a child to second hand smoke would be a little more hazardous than growing a plant in their presence. I can't believe that this is best they can come up with. These same old excuses are really getting old.
For the record, I do not think that selling marijuana in the presence of children is ok. But, if it were legalized, it would be sold in tobacco shops and places of that nature. Not in the presence of children.

Swabeky

so if I was growing 1 plant in nevada and had a kid, I could get locked up for 15 years? I really hope common sense wins on this one otherwise nevada's prison system is even more screwed.

newgrowerNY

heil Hitler

Good call. They are almost the same ..

Wow I can't believe this was even mentioned in this article. Glad to see someone with common sense.

Why aren't kids out eating trees then? How many stories are out there about kids eating the tomato plant rather than the tomato

Explain one danger of growing MJ out of your house. This is how the prohibition police get there laws enacted. Drag children , even if the supporting argument is completely absurd, into the mix and everyone gets a glazed look in there eyes, "were doing it for the safety of our children"

Like I said Heil Hitler.

reggie_the_dog

By their logic it should be illegal to grow rhubarb if you have children. Imagine if the kid went out and ate some rhubarb leaves, that would be toxic and likely deadly. If they ate some leaves of your cannabis plant they would not have a toxic reaction and would not even get stoned.

 

Buzzby

Marijuana is one of the least toxic substances known to man. If a toddler ate part of a marijuana plant it wouldn't do anything at all. OTOH, if there was a completely legal bottle of Vicodin in the cupboard over the sink...

I wonder how many kids die every year from chewing on a Poinsettia leaves?

If a parent is growing marijuana behind a locked door, he's not exposing his child to anything.

The biggest one seems to be electrical fires. People need to be very careful when setting up grow ops that they don't overload the circuits or cut corners when doing the wiring. They need to leave adequate distance between hot lights and flammable substances.

The next most likely danger is being raided by the cops and "accidentally" shot. Finally, you could get violently ripped off.

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newgrowerNY

Ah but you are making certain assumptions that people who have these are careless. You are 100% right, but that is based on an outside influence of human element.

All things being equal, (both installed by "professionals") how could this be any more dangerous than having a sauna in your house or whirlpool.

Lit_Match

Would you let a stranger wire your grow room or would you do it yourself? You may know better, but a lot of people don't study/take shortcuts/or don't pay attention to what they're doing. I can't even count how many grow houses have been discovered when the fire department shows up. All you'd have to do is fail to ground one of your lights, it gets wet or a conductive material comes close enough and you could have a fire on your hands.

As far as this bill goes, I'm curious whats the penalty for having nazi insignia/propaganda in your house if you have children, surely it isn't 15 years in jail.

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Donation links to NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) | MPP (Marijuana Policy Project)

newgrowerNY

Well now here we go again.

Because an action is performed while MJ is involved, in this case its bad wiring on the grow equipment, that is usually performed by the said individual because of MJ being illegal, I dont think its fair to say the act of growing MJ is dangerous. Those people who start fires trying to wire grow equipment, would also burn down their house if they tried to wire a outside motion light. Peoples ignorance and/or laziness does not make the activity itself dangerous. Looks around for the bucket to put his 2 cents in

Buzzby

The ones who cause electrical fires because of poor wiring are careless.

Why would you want to exclude the human element? Grow ops are set up by humans in my experience.

Home grow ops are not usually set up by trained electricians, carpenters, and plumbers. That's the reality. Your "safe" scenario is great, but I don't know anyone who has used it: too much exposure.

In a perfect world where marijuana wasn't illegal that would be true, but we don't live in such a world. Ideally, growing marijuana in your house isn't dangerous. In the real world, where it's grown by people without the requisite knowledge to set up a proper electrical system it can be.

I spent many years as a general contractor on home building, room addition, and remodeling projects. I learned all I could about wiring from books but I was glad that the building inspector would have to come in and determine that everything was up to code before closing up the walls.