Election Section

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A Washington, D.C.-based organization has poured $1.28 million into a campaign to legalize possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana in Nevada, far outspending opponents of the ballot question. 

Three major Nevada casino-hotel corporations provided most of the funding for opponents of Question 9, on Tuesday’s ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment. 

The latest report from Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, pushing Question 9, showed virtually all its funding came from the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. 

Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement also reported spending $1.1 million. 

The Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable, which is trying to defeat the marijuana petition, reported getting $143,800 in contributions in the August-October quarter — half of that from the Venetian megaresort on the Las Vegas Strip. 

Other big contributors included casino-owning Park Place Entertainment and Boyd Gaming, for $25,000 apiece; and Sunbelt Communications, which contributed $10,000. 

The Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable spent $128,265. Of the expenses, $107,000 went to FFG Advertising and $20,000 went to Rogich Communications for consulting. 

A group called Nevadans Against Legalized Marijuana collected $6,325 and spent $6,225. The major contributor to this group was Stop DUI, which gave more than $5,000. 

The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, which is supporting a ban on gay marriages in Nevada, reported it collected $351,468 since the primary election in September. At that point it had a balance of $523,231. In its latest report, the coalition said it spent $730,231 since the primary. 

The figures were in campaign finance reports filed this week with the Nevada Secretary of State’s office.