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Poll: Many don't back legalization of brothels, hash bars for tourism
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL/8NEWSNOW
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Aug. 30, 2010 | 4:55 p.m.
Well, you've made yourselves clear: No hookers or hashish.
A new Review-Journal/8NewsNow poll found a strong majority of Nevadans against legalizing marijuana and prostitution to boost tourism. On the pot question, 79 percent of respondents gave the thumbs-down to Dutch-style hashish and marijuana bars in Las Vegas. Residents weighing in against brothels in Clark County proved even more overwhelming, with 64 percent of participants registering disapproval.
Mason-Dixon Polling & Research conducted the survey of 405 registered Clark County voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
Brad Coker, a pollster with Mason-Dixon, said even Nevada's live-and-let-live ethos couldn't nudge voters toward acceptance of controversial laws.
"Things are maybe a little desperate in Clark County these days, but I don't think they're quite that desperate yet," Coker said. "These kinds of issues push the limits of even a libertarian community. You could go to some very liberal communities, and the idea of legalizing prostitution would probably raise a few eyebrows."
Plus, setting up pot bars would fly against the broader, more mainstream visitor base local hotel-casino operators and tourism officials have worked to attract to Southern Nevada, Coker said. And then there's the public-safety issue: It's one thing to endorse pot smoking in the privacy of the home, but sticking hash bars on street corners is a whole different scene. Smokers might drive home after indulging, and that could make some voters leery of the idea, Coker said.
Nevada's voters have the right idea, though, said Bill Thompson, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor who specializes in gambling studies and has observed the Las Vegas tourism market for 30 years.
Legalizing local brothels and hash bars would actually hurt the city's hospitality sector, Thompson said.
For one thing, forget about girlfriends and wives tolerating their boyfriends' and husbands' weekend guys' forays to a brothel-heavy Las Vegas. Legalizing prostitution here would unequivocally place Las Vegas in the category of unacceptable places to visit, Thompson said.
Besides, if prostitution could yield such a great economic boost, then Mound House would be the Nevada town that hosts 36 million visitors a year.
"And I think you should really consider what kind of people this would draw," Thompson said. "We don't need anymore sleazy people. It would be like having an NBA All-Star Weekend here every week."
Nor would pot bars bolster the gaming sector, Thompson said.
He and late UNLV economist Keith Schwer studied compulsive gamblers a while back and found that drinkers had the most severe issues with problem gambling, while drug users had the least-serious gambling habits. The lesson? Get consumers high, and they'll spend less time at the craps tables. As Thompson points out, he's walked into casinos at least 1,000 times, and never has he smelled marijuana in the air.
Despite the obstacles, numerous policymakers and advocacy groups have proposed legalizing prostitution or pot in Nevada and Las Vegas.
Most famously, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman in 2003 suggested turning downtown's East Fremont Street into a "little Amsterdam," and called prostitution a potential "redevelopment tool." Legalized brothels would also generate revenue and provide a safer environment for the sex trade, he said.
Goodman wasn't available to comment for this article before press time.
Initiatives to legalize marijuana appeared on state ballots in 2002 and 2006, going down in defeat both times. Sixty-one percent opposed the 2002 question calling for allowing Nevadans to carry three ounces of pot. The 2006 version fared a little better, with 56 percent voting it down.
And hilarity ensued in 2004 when pro-pot advocates lost petitions with roughly 6,000 signatures endorsing their ballot question, and subsequently failed to submit the documents to election registrars before the deadline. ("Dude, we forgot to take these sigs to The Man, man!!")
More recently, advocacy group Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws lost national backing from the Marijuana Policy Project in a bid to get yet another pro-legalization question on the ballot in 2012. Group leaders acknowledged on Aug. 3 that their effort could end as a result, though they didn't respond to a query for this story.
Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.
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We have the highest unemployment in the country (15%!) and the imbiciles that live here are against progress and creating jobs obviously. Thats fine, "idiots" in Vegas, keep digging your own graves and make Vegas a ghost town with no jobs for anyone. After all the water evaporates due to the drought this place will turn into a dust bowl and will be uninabitable. We keep doing the same wrong things and expect different results each time, that is the definition of stupidity.
Besides that we need more facets to our local economy other than gambling, buiding/construction, the service industry, the auto industry and the AC industry. These industries aren't cutting it for jobs because we are at 15% unemployment, I mean it is obvious things arent working as is, do the math! Any sensible person would want to see unemployment numbers decrease because it DRAGS US ALL DOWN. Legalizing hash bars and prostitution CREATES JOBS regardless if you agree with the business model or not. Obviously those against marijuana are against progress and are stuck in a 1930's prohibition mentality and what good does that produce? Absolutely nothing!
To VegasDude2010: Please lose your biased slant based on prejudism that all pot smokers are zombies. Last time I checked we actually do have active members of society that engage in smoking rather than drinking themselves to oblivion (I have seen many people drink turning into "slobbering" zombies fools, so why arent we talking about that?). You are just parroting more propaganda that has been spewed through the years with nothing based on facts.
Like I said, we live in Sin City. not "religious" or right winged "conservative" city. If you want that then please move to the bible belt and let the adults play and have some fun in SIN CITY, as long as we dont hurt one another or anyone else. Vegas has legalized gambling, legalized 24 hour drinking and legalized brothels so lets quit kidding ourselves that we can make Vegas Wholesome. Come back down to earth and out of fantasy land. Yes Sin City should be America's Amsterdam. How will we know if it works or not if we are too cowardly to try it?
If the LVRJ took an actual poll of the commentors then we would be looking at at least 90% of respondents in FAVOR of legalizing BOTH. Lets end the draconian war on drugs, actually the war on the American People, and take back this country from those in power who try to keep the people down.
I agree with legalizing prostitution in Clark County. It would take the seedy element away, get rid of all the scumbag middlemen/pimps, and bring revenue to the city. On any given night, these hos are plying their trade anyway. Who are we kidding?? It has been shown that even the cops use these services. Just legalize it and take advantage of human nature! As far as the hashish/pot bars? No way. You'd have walking zombies on the strip, nothing good could come of that. This isn't Amsterdam, never will be. It still is the U.S.A. last I looked.
I'm guessing the casinos are against legalizing prostitution. Legalization means higher prices. Brothels (or the employees) pay for rent, health checks, licensing, etc. Higher prices means a lot less money to give to the casinos on your trip from wherever prostitution is illegal.
A constitutional republic as "a government of laws, and not of men." Constitutional republics are a deliberate attempt to diminish the perceived threat of majoritarianism, thereby protecting dissenting individuals and minority groups from the "tyranny of the majority" by placing checks on the power of the majority of the population. The power of the majority of the people is checked by limiting that power to electing representatives who are required to legislate with limits of overarching constitutional law which a simple majority cannot modify.
Justin.in.NLV your anology makes no sense to me and here is why: the constitution is meant to restrain federal government power and gives the states individually more rights over what the federal government can tell them they have to go along with and what they don't. The Yucca mountain deal was all through the federal government anyway. If 49% of the states vote against us, Nevada even if we are the 1% minority, our rights are still protected under the constitution, even if all the separate states have their own constitutions. The constitution is meant to protect minority rights from the majority. I mean we couldn't just send our prisoners for example from Nevada and every other western state to Montana if they didnt want it and we voted on it, could we?
Is this selective polling? Are they going to churches to get their stats?
Sounds like the Libertarian Party has a lot of potential recruits here!
To use some liberal logic: You can't legalize brothels in Clark County because it would cause layoffs by the limo companies who haul clients to Pahrump.