Pubdate: Mon, 01 Nov 1999 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 1999 Albuquerque Journal Contact: P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103 Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Author: Michael Coleman, Journal Staff Writer Cited: New Mexico Drug Policy Foundation: http://www.newmexicodrugpolicy.org/ The Lindesmith Center: http://www.lindesmith.org/ Common Sense for Drug Policy: http://www.csdp.org/ Mike Gray: http://www.drugsense.org/crazy.htm NORML: http://www.norml.org/ DRUG REFORMERS TO JOIN JOHNSON Several of America's pre-eminent drug policy reform advocates will join Gov. Gary Johnson in Albuquerque on Tuesday to discuss alternatives to national drug policy. The forum, "Just say KNOW: KNOW the Facts, KNOW the Issues, KNOW the Alternatives" is scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. at the Albuquerque Crowne Plaza Pyramid hotel. The free forum will be hosted by the New Mexico Drug Policy Foundation and will be open to the public. "This is an opportunity for the general public to get some accurate information about current federal drug policy," said Steve Bunch, the foundation's executive director. "One of the most important features of this forum is for the public to fully understand what Gov. Johnson has been talking about." Johnson is the highest-ranking elected official in the United States to call for the legalization of some drugs. He has consistently said drug use is a "bad choice" but that the choice should not carry criminal penalties. Johnson contends that legalizing, regulating and taxing drugs would decrease drug use and eliminate many of the societal ills that stem from the illegal sale and use of such substances. Other panelists slated for Tuesday's forum include Ethan Nadelmann and Marsha Rosenbaum from the Lindesmith Center, a national drug policy think-tank funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. Kevin Zeese, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Common Sense for Drug Policy, and author-filmmaker Mike Gray also are scheduled to participate in the discussion. Nadelmann, who holds a doctorate degree in political science from Harvard and a master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics, has been described in Rolling Stone magazine as the "point man for drug policy reform efforts." He is the founder and executive director of the Lindesmith Center. Rosenbaum is a sociologist and director of the Lindesmith Center's San Francisco office. She has received 10 grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study female heroin addicts, methadone maintenance programs, cocaine and drug use during pregnancy. Bunch said the forums intentionally focus on one side of the legalization debate -- the pro-legalization side. "The New Mexico Drug Policy Foundation wants to avoid a confrontational and angry drug policy argument," Bunch said. "We need this kind of forum before we get to a drug policy debate." A second forum called "Legalization: A Bold Alternative to the Drug War" is scheduled for Nov. 16 at the Albuquerque Radisson Hotel. The second forum, a daylong event, will include Johnson and other drug policy reform proponents including Republican California Superior Court Judge James Gray, the executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and experts on the drug and health policies in the Netherlands. Johnson is scheduled to debate drug policy with Bernalillo County District Attorney Jeff Romero next month. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake