Marijuana Policy Project

John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) -- our nation's so-called drug czar -- made appearances in Reno last week to attack Question 7, the initiative to tax and regulate marijuana. This is just the first round in the federal government's coordinated campaign to influence the voters of Nevada on a state issue.

Many Nevadans will remember that then-Attorney General Brian Sandoval referred to the federal government's intervention in the 2002 marijuana initiative as "excessive" and "disturbing." Sandoval stated in an official opinion that it was "unfortunate that a representative of the federal government substantially intervened in a matter that was clearly a State of Nevada issue."

Nevadans should expect more anti-marijuana commercials and a number of visits by federal officials to influence the outcome of our election.

The federal government will be fighting the marijuana initiative this year with an unlimited source of campaign funds: the wallets of every American taxpayer. This year, the drug czar has at least $100 million in taxpayer funds at his disposal to spend on television, radio and newspaper ads. In all, the government spends about $7.7 billion enforcing marijuana prohibition annually, yet the U.S. Department of Justice reports "marijuana availability is high and stable or increasing slightly." In essence, our marijuana laws do not work.

Congress, to its credit, is starting to scrutinize the failures of the drug czar. On Aug. 25, the Government Accountability Office -- Congress' investigating arm and auditing agency -- issued a report finding that ONDCP's anti-drug advertising campaign has not been effective at deterring youth drug use, and that Congress should consider slashing their budget until ONDCP is able to "provide credible evidence of the effectiveness of exposure to the campaign on youth drug use." And the Des Moines Register reported on April 26 that U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, believes President George W. Bush should fire Walters for spending too much time on marijuana and not enough on the rising use of hard drugs like methamphetamine.

Our current marijuana laws have given violent gangs and criminals an exclusive business franchise in Nevada. In contrast, we support taking marijuana out of the hands of criminals and placing it into a tightly controlled and regulated market. Our initiative creates a statewide system for the legal cultivation, distribution, sale, and taxation of a maximum of one ounce of marijuana to adults aged 21 and older.

Earlier this year, Walters admitted that Mexican drug cartels are currently making $8.5 billion off of marijuana sales. Instead of funding the violent activities of street gangs and drug dealers, our initiative will levy a tax on marijuana -- generating millions of dollars for our state.

As Nevadans, we have an important choice to make this year. We can continue to support our broken marijuana laws, or we can take marijuana out of the hands of criminals and create a system of taxation and regulation. We urge the people of Nevada to vote "yes" on Question 7 on Nov. 7.

Neal Levine is campaign manager for the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, which supports Question 7.