Las Vegas NowFight to Legalize Marijuana Escalates War of Words

Fight to Legalize Marijuana Escalates War of Words

The nation's drug czar John Walters, the National Drug Control Policy Director, was in Las Vegas Thursday urging voters to say 'No' to ballot Question 7. The initiative would make the possession of a small amount of marijuana legal. Here are the provisions.

The measure would allow the sale, use and possession of one ounce or less of marijuana for people at least 21-years of age. It imposes a tax on the sale of the drug.

The measure would double the prison sentence from 20 to 40 years for those who cause death or injury while driving under the influence of marijuana.

For Brittany Faber legalizing marijuana will always be a very personal battle. She says ten years ago the drug took from her the most important person from her childhood.

"My dad had just dropped my sister off at middle school and he was on his way to work," Brittany Faber, a Las Vegas resident, says.

Her father never made it. An 18-year-old, high on marijuana, traveling 85 mph in a 45 mph zone hit her dad's car.

"He hit my dad on the drivers side. He hit him so hard. My dad's head shattered the passenger side window," Faber says.

Brittany was 8 years old at the time. To this day, she's angry at the teen who took her father's life and received only house arrest. In 1997, there was no driving under the influence of drugs law in the state.

She fought to help get one passed in the memory of her dad.

"He would always make me milkshakes and we would sit and watch TV and eat milkshakes together. He was such a good dad. He was such a good father," Faber says.

The debate over legalizing marijuana brings up long buried feelings. She joined the national drug czar in Las Vegas to oppose legalizing marijuana.

"The willingness to say well it's only on ounce. Letting people walk around with 60 or 80 joints, that's what it amounts to really, becomes kind of a drug dealer protection act," John Walters, National Drug Control Policy Director, says.

Not everyone welcomed John Walters.

A dozen protesters let him know they approve legalizing marijuana.

"People have a choice to make. Do we want marijuana in a tightly regulated and controlled system, or do we want the current free for all that we have now. As a parent, I want it in a tightly regulated and controlled system," Neal Livine from the Committee to Regulate & Control Marijuana says.

Voters will decided on the issue on November 7. Meantime, Walters announced a $100,000 to the Las Vegas anti-drug coalition. The money will be used to prevent drug use among local teens.

Send your feedback to Reporter Edward Lawrence at elawrence@klastv.com.