Confronting the Drug Czar

Hi all, this is Neal Levine blogging this morning, on the road in pursuit of the drug czar. I just came from KVBC "News 3 at Sunrise," where I was interviewed following Drug Czar John Walters' interview about Question 7, our initiative to tax and regulate marijuana in Nevada. I'll be posting updates on the blog periodically as we try to confront the drug czar everywhere he goes while he's in Las Vegas today.

I showed up at the TV studio this morning and was greeted by dozens of secret service agents. The drug czar is traveling with a huge security detail, clearly spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money just to be here. The interview went very well. Predictably, Walters made some outrageous statements about Question 7. And unbelievably, he announced on NBC this morning that he's here in Nevada to hand out taxpayer dollars to local opposition groups because they can't raise enough money on their own to put up TV ads opposing Question 7. This is an outrageous abuse of taxpayer funds by a federal agency. How do you like knowing that your tax dollars are going toward funding groups who oppose passing Question 7? (If you haven't donated to CRCM before, now would be a good time ...)

I'm on my way now to try to intercept Walters at an 8:00 a.m. event. We don't know for sure that he'll be there -- Walters isn't exactly forthcoming with the public about his schedule -- but if he is, we'll be there too, representing Nevada's right to vote for a sensible marijuana policy without federal interference. Stay tuned for more updates.