By Chris Kudialis, Las Vegas Sun

What’s billed as a marijuana education conference this week at UNR is more like a state-sponsored, government-funded propaganda rally against legalization of the drug, say supporters of the state’s marijuana industry.

And they think that if UNR is allowed to put on the event, they deserve equal time.

The conference, titled “Marijuana Summit: What Health Care Professionals, Law Enforcement Officers, Employers and Members of the Court Need to Know,” features presenters such as Nevada Assemblyman Pat Hickey, an opponent of legalization efforts; Mel Pohl, medical director of the Las Vegas Recovery Center; and Jim Gerhardt, a Thornton, Colo., police sergeant who has traveled across the country over the past year cautioning legislators of the dangers of marijuana.

Critics question why the Division of Public and Behavioral Health, an arm of the state Department of Health and Human Services, would be involved, given that the division’s mission is to carry out public policy and not to sway public opinion on it.

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