Friday, Oct. 25, 2002 | 4:45 a.m.
IT'S STILL HARD to believe that Sun Associate Editor Sandy Thompson no longer is with us.
Thompson was at a stoplight Aug. 9 minding her own business, probably thinking about her next column, when 21-year-old John Simbrat slammed his SUV into her car and killed her.
Simbrat pleaded guilty last week to causing her death by driving under the influence of a controlled substance -- marijuana. He received the deal of his life, a recommended sentence of 4 to 20 years in prison.
His punishment is far less than the loss felt by Thompson's husband, Gary, 22-year-old daughter, Kelly, and Thompson's friends and colleagues at the Sun and in many other parts of the Las Vegas community.
Both Gary and Kelly Thompson gave moving tributes to the woman they loved at her funeral a few days after her death.
And on Friday, a few days after the man who killed Thompson pleaded guilty to her death, they spoke out again, just as eloquently.
This time Gary and Kelly talked about what it's like to feel the pain of losing someone to a driver under the influence of marijuana.
They held a news conference outside the Sun building along with opponents of Question 9, the ballot initiative seeking to legalize the possession of up to three ounces of marijuana.
Officers from every police department in Southern Nevada were among those crowding around the Thompsons as they held back tears and spoke to reporters.
"This is devastating," said Gary Thompson, a Harrah's Entertainment executive and former Sun managing editor, just prior to the news conference. "We don't want anybody else to go through this, especially if it's preventable. And it is preventable."
Kelly Thompson told reporters that there is no logical reason to vote for Question 9.
"It will not benefit the citizens of Nevada or society in any way," she said. "It will only hurt us."
It already has hurt the Thompsons. But their spirits remain high.
They have showed us real faces, real victims, in this battle to keep the roads safe from drug users -- and Nevada from becoming the nation's laughingstock.
They have provided a credible voice to warn us about future victims if Question 9 passes.
Sandy Thompson knew the ramifications of legalizing marijuana. That's why she opposed it prior to her death.
And now her husband and daughter intend to carry on the fight in the final days of the election so that her death will have meaning. They'll be appearing in television ads this week on behalf of the opposition.
The best the pro-marijuana forces could do last week was announce that retired cop Don Denison had come out in favor of legalizing grass. He joined one other former cop, Andy Anderson.
Denison has impressive credentials. He's a former Metro undersheriff, former director of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety and a former chairman of the Nevada Parole Board.
But he is no match for Gary and Kelly Thompson. They have Sandy on their side looking down from above.
And Denison is no match for the thousands of cops at police departments across the state who are opposed to Question 9.
Today, as we face daily threats of terrorism, Americans have come to rely even more on the judgment of police officers to protect us.
This many cops can't be wrong when they tell us that legalizing marijuana will lead to more crime and more victims. We should listen to them.
And we should listen to Gary and Kelly Thompson, who have felt the pain of a driver under the influence.
If we don't want to vote against Question 9 for the cops, or for Gary and Kelly, we should do it for Sandy Thompson, who dedicated her life to making this community better.
We should give her death meaning.
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