-Caveat Lector-
From: David Goldman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [CIA-DRUGS] New Mexico Governor advocating drug legalization
Date: Monday, October 04, 1999 2:01 PM
From: David Goldman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10/4/99 -- 3:56 PM
New Mexico governor brings pro-narcotics
message to Washington
WASHINGTON (AP) - Not only has the war on drugs been a
multibillion-dollar
failure, but it has unjustifiably thrown thousands of people in
prison while lying
about the dangers of marijuana, New Mexico's governor said Monday.
Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican, kicked off a visit to the nation's
capital by
meeting with leaders of a college student group that shares his
goal of drug
legalization. Johnson is the country's highest-ranking elected
official to advocate
legalizing such drugs as cocaine, heroin and marijuana.
After swimming two miles and jogging five miles for his morning
workout, then
bounding up four flights of stairs to avoid a sluggish elevator at
George
Washington University, Johnson told the students that drugs are a
bad choice,
but people should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to
make it.
``I hate to say it, but the majority of people who use drugs use
them
responsibly,'' Johnson told members of Students for a Sensible Drug
Policy.
``They choose when to do it. They do them at home. It's not a
financial
burden.''
White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey and other officials
excoriated Johnson last week after he became the first governor to
support drug
legalization.
``His pro-drug message runs in the face of all the hard work of
millions of
parents, teachers, health professionals, community leaders, coaches
and clergy
who are working so hard to stem drug use,'' McCaffrey said Friday.
Johnson found a friendlier audience in the students.
``Students are experts on drug use,'' said Kris Lotlikar, a leader
of the group.
``We're the children that this war was supposed to protect. But I
have yet to talk
to any student who came from a drug-free high school. To me, that's
a failed
policy.''
The students said they did not want to be labeled drug users just
because they
support legalization.
``We aren't a group of dope-smoking hippies,'' said David Epstein,
a member of
the group from American University.
As the students sipped bottled water, Johnson told them of his drug
use as a
young man and his decision years ago to forgo not only drugs but
alcohol and
even Coca-Cola in favor of training for triathlons.
``I was somebody who smoked marijuana in college. I didn't
experiment with
marijuana, I smoked it,'' Johnson said. ``I made a bad choice, but
even then it
wasn't a choice that I felt should have landed me in jail.''
Johnson said he supports legalization of drugs, but under strict
control of sales
and use and with significant taxation. Under a legalization scheme,
Johnson said,
drugs such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine should not be available
to anyone
under 21, public drug use should be banned and penalties should be
increased
for crimes such as driving under the influence.
``There are going to be new problems under legalization,'' Johnson
said. ``But I
submit to you they are going to be about half of what they are
today under the
prohibition model.''
Current drug policy focuses too heavily on imprisoning people while
allowing
illegal drug cartels to rake in billions of dollars, Johnson said.
Current anti-drug
education efforts such as the government's ``this is your brain on
drugs''
television commercials amount to lies, he said.
``You're brought up learning that drugs make you crazy,'' Johnson
said. ``Then
you do marijuana for the first time, and it's not so bad. It's kind
of cool. That's
when kids find out it's been a lie.''
Darren White, who oversees New Mexico's state police as head of the
Department of Public Safety, told the students he is unwilling to
support drug
legalization but agreed with Johnson that current anti-drug efforts
are misguided.
``We aren't winning the drug war. I can tell you because I'm
fighting on the front
lines every day,'' White said. ``I call it a skirmish, because
that's the kind of
resources I'm getting to fight it. ... As a nation, we're not
willing to give up the
civil liberties necessary to win the drug war.''
Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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