Pubdate: Mon, 4 Oct 1999 Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM) Copyright: 1999 The Albuquerque Tribune. Contact: http://www.abqtrib.com/ Author: Associated Press Links: http://www.cato.org/events/drugwar/ http://www.cato.org/dispatch/10-04-99d.html#johnson http://www.ssdp.org/ JOHNSON ATTACKS 'LIES' OF DRUG WAR WASHINGTON - Drug use would remain steady or decline and crime would be slashed if drugs were legalized, New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson said today as he kicked off a tour of the nation's capital. Johnson, an Albuquerque Republican, told about a dozen college students that while he believes drugs are "a bad choice" and "a handicap," current federal anti-drug polices are a failure. "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 at George Washington University. "They choose when to do it. They do them at home. It's not a financial burden." The governor began the drug-decriminalization debate earlier this summer. He has asked the state political leaders to remain open-minded to the decriminalization issue. But 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." 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 soft drinks 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 legalized drugs with strict taxes and control on their sales and use. 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 enhanced for crimes such as driving under the influence. Current drug policy focuses too heavily on throwing people in jail, while allowing illegal drug cartels to rake in billions of dollars, Johnson said. And current anti-drug education efforts such as the well-known "This is your brain on drugs" advertisements 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 as head of New Mexico's Department of Public Safety oversees the State Police, told the students he was not willing 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." Johnson will deliver a keynote speech Tuesday at luncheon by the Cato Institute, a Libertarian-leaning public policy research group. The organization is having a conference called "Beyond Prohibition: An Adult Approach to Drug Policies in the 21st Century." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake