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| Drug-Reform Lobbyist Admits Error |
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Posted by FoM on March 02, 2002 at 08:58:58 PT By Steve Terrell, The New Mexican Source: Santa Fe New Mexican 
Backers of a bill to legalize marijuana as a medicine for some seriously ill patients might have doomed that bill in this year's Legislature with a "tactical error," a drug-reform lobbyist said Friday. Former Gov. Toney Anaya, a lobbyist for the Lindesmith Center, talked about the medical-marijuana bill immediately after Gov. Gary Johnson signed into law several drug-related laws that made it through the Legislature. The medical-marijuana proposal, sponsored by Sen. Roman Maes, D-Santa Fe, died when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-5, killing a do-pass recommendation. A subsequent attempt to revive the bill on the Senate floor failed overwhelmingly. Anaya said he and other medical-marijuana proponents should have accepted a proposed amendment from Sen. Bill Payne, R-Albuquerque. That amendment, Anaya said, would have required any state medical marijuana to comply with federal Drug Enforcement Agency regulations. The amendment also provided for "get-out-of-jail-free" cards for patients participating in the program, effectively stopping their being prosecuted for drug possession, Anaya said. "At the time, those advising Sen. Maes at the committee hearing thought this amendment would have undermined the bill," Anaya said. But in retrospect, he said, the bill's backers should have accepted the amendment. "To my knowledge, there are no DEA regulations pertaining to this," Anaya said. Also working against the medical-marijuana proposal, Anaya said, was a Supreme Court decision against a California medical-marijuana club. "That created a lot of confusion," he said, adding he thought bill opponents purposely used the court decision to cloud the issue. Anaya mentioned a letter from DEA chief Asa Hutchison opposing the bill that also influenced some senators. In 2001, near-identical medical-marijuana bills passed both the House and Senate. However, neither bill passed both houses, so neither made it to the governor to be signed. Johnson said he was disappointed the medical-marijuana bill - and one to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of pot - didn't make it to his desk. "But, being a realist, I'm glad we got the ones we got," he said Friday. Johnson said he was happy to sign Senate Bill 5, which requires offenders be convicted of a crime before the government can permanently seize their property. He vetoed a similar measure during his first term. Johnson said that veto was one of his biggest mistakes he has made as governor. Johnson made drug-law reform a priority during his second term, gaining national attention. He hinted to reporters Friday he might be taking some kind of position as a drug-reform advocate on the national level. He declined to give details. Among the bills Johnson signed bills Friday: * House Bill 26, which gives judges the power not to impose extra prison time for some nonviolent habitual criminals. * SB263, which sets up a commission to oversee the early release of certain nonviolent prison inmates. * HB11 and SB129, both of which allow convicted drug offenders to receive federal benefits after being released from prison. Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM) Related Articles & Web Site: Drug Policy Alliance Medical Marijuana Information Links Statistical Contradiction Senate Cans Part of Pot Bill Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #6 posted by FoM on March 03, 2002 at 10:48:40 PT |
| I can't wait to hear Governor Johnson speak when he isn't Governor anymore. He has had to be so careful as long as he represents New Mexico. I'm sure he will get involved with the Drug Policy Alliance and NORML too. President Gary Johnson 2004 has the best ring to it!!!!! [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #5 posted by Jose Melendez on March 03, 2002 at 10:23:07 PT:
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Silence greets invitation to appeal drug convictionsNarcotics tests flawed Tom Blackwell
When Health Canada discovered that one of its drug testers had botched the analysis of contraband in more than 200 narcotics cases, officials braced for a flood of appeals and re-trials. But months after the department advertised the flawed tests across Canada, not a single person affected by the affair has launched an appeal of their possibly tainted conviction, stunning the government and defence lawyers. An invalid drug analysis certificate would result in almost any drug case collapsing -- if someone bothered to challenge it -- one lawyer said yesterday. In fact, several cases involving problematic tests that were still in progress were dropped by prosecutors because of the flawed certificates. "It's still out there and people can still come forward. But we haven't had a call from the public since [the ads were published] and we wonder if anything will ever come of it," said Dorette Huggins, a Justice Department spokeswoman. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #4 posted by Dan B on March 03, 2002 at 05:36:36 PT:
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| I would bet that Gov. Johnson goes to the Drug Policy Alliance (formerly The Lindesmith Center) to begin his stint in the national drug policy spotlight, not NORML. NORML has been to unpredictable--and sometimes downright harmful--to the movement as a whole. DPA can give Johnson the national spotlight and respect that I believe he seeks. But it sure would be nice if he did run for office in the near future, though I believe any attempt at legalization would necessarily involve a complete overhaul of the government and the economy (which currently uses the illegal drug trade as its foundation). So, I don't have much faith that anything will happen with regard to real drug policy reform until the proverbial ca-ca hits the fan. We are approaching critical mass on this subject, but we aren't there yet. Too many people have their hands in the honey pot. If we expose enough of them to cause a public stir, that might be our ticket to a real national debate. Dan B [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by SoberStoner on March 02, 2002 at 20:47:50 PT |
| He hinted to reporters Friday he might be taking some kind of position as a drug-reform advocate on the national level. He declined to give details.
Maybe he wants to make his name a bit higher profile over the next couple years and run against Bush if he keeps acting the way he has been?? Think about it..you dont get much coverage in New Mexico, but going to a national organization (Hello, NORML???) would almost guarantee more people know about you come primary time. This could be the man we've been looking for...ya think? I know I would vote for him..and i would try to talk to everyone i know that smokes to get out and vote for him too. If he organized all the reformers and got them to vote, he just might be able to win. Stranger things have happened..look at how the plant was prohibited to begin with. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 02, 2002 at 14:01:43 PT |
| http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/11636.htm http://abc.go.com/primetime/politicallyincorrect/ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by CorvallisEric on March 02, 2002 at 12:16:12 PT |
| Johnson said he was happy to sign Senate Bill 5, which requires offenders be convicted of a crime before the government can permanently seize their property.
He vetoed a similar measure during his first term. Johnson said that veto was one of his biggest mistakes he has made as governor. My first thought was that if he could satisfactorily explain that veto, then we would be 10 percent closer to understanding how the universe works. Then I realized that this happened long before the Nov 2000 ballot victory in Utah (also Oregon, but who cares;) and now I think I understand. [ Post Comment ] |
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