cannabisnews.com: Don't Legalize Drugs 





Don't Legalize Drugs 
Posted by FoM on October 08, 1999 at 13:38:33 PT
By John Doggett 
Source: World Net Daily
Do you know who Gary Johnson is? You should, because Gary Johnson, the two-term libertarian Republican governor of New Mexico, is one of the most dangerous politicians in the world. 
Gov. Johnson wants the federal government to legalize drugs and then make money off people's misery. Listen to what Gov. Johnson told college students in Washington, D.C., Monday. "I hate to say it, but the majority of people who use drugs use them responsibly. They choose when to do it. They do them at home. It's not a financial burden." "You're brought up learning that drugs make you crazy. 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." "There are going to be new problems under legalization, but I submit to you they are going to be about half of what they are today under the prohibition model." Gary Johnson says he used marijuana and cocaine in college. Gary Johnson believes that because he could "safely" use drugs, most people can. Gary Johnson is dead wrong. The Associated Press says that Johnson 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; we would ban public drug use, and penalties for crimes such as driving under the influence would be increased. That, in a nutshell, is Gov. Johnson's frightening vision for America. Let's look at Gov. Johnson's arguments one by one. The governor says that the War on Drugs is a failure. He is wrong. Crime statistics show that drug use, drug-related murders and spending on illegal drugs have all gone down. It is true that the War on Drugs is hideously expensive. It is true that we now know that many more people use drugs than we thought in the past. Guess what? That's what happens when you shine a light into a cave. You see things hidden in the dark. However, exposing the dangers of drug use and arresting, prosecuting and jailing drug pushers is the price we must pay to save our society from this devil's plague. Gov. Johnson thinks that if we legalize drugs, the drug lords will roll over and go away. Wrong again. The drug business is the most violent and profitable business in the world. What makes anyone think that the drug billionaires and their hatchlings will walk away from a "successful business" just because we have legalized it? Did the end of prohibition end mobster influence in the alcohol industry? Today, the mob is as deeply involved in the distribution and sale of liquor as it was at the end of Prohibition. There is no way that the drug lords will stop their evil work just because we have legalized drugs. In fact, it will "legitimize" them and turn our law enforcement community into enforcers for "legalized" drug pushers. Gov. Johnson says marijuana is harmless. That's not what scientists have found. Marijuana is a gateway drug. Marijuana conditions your body for more serious drugs because marijuana affects the same part of the brain as heroin and cocaine. The difference is that marijuana-induced highs and withdrawals are more gradual. As a result, many marijuana users develop the misconception that if they can "handle" pot, they can handle other drugs. Did I mention that smoking marijuana has many of the same health impacts on your respiratory system as smoking tobacco? Gov. Johnson wants to treat heroin, crank, ice, crack, LSD, roofies and a whole host of hard drugs like alcohol. Why would we ever want to do that? Crack, for example, is highly addictive. When an addict is high on crack, he or she can become extremely violent and will do anything to get more crack. Legalization doesn't change the body's chemistry. Someone addicted to "U.S. Government Certified Crack Cocaine" will be just as messed up as those addicted to illegal crack cocaine today. Because it is legal, every day they will see ads on television and in the press extolling the virtues of every drug under the sun. Does that vision of America excite you? Isn't it ironic that as the federal government sues big tobacco for producing a dangerous product, a Republican governor calls for the legalization of cocaine? Isn't it ironic that most people who support the legalization of drugs want to ban guns? Isn't it ironic that most people who want to legalize drugs support the murder of babies and oppose the death penalty? Gov. Johnson says that if we regulate the sale of hard drugs, people will use them responsibly. What planet does he come from? Do you want a pilot to use cocaine or LSD before flying? Do you want the government to set maximum blood content levels for crank, ice or crack, to decide what "driving under the influence" is? That's what we will have to have if Gov. Johnson gets his way. Do you want a school bus driver buying government-certified LSD? Do you want the government telling our children that drug use is OK? That's Gary Johnson's dream for America. If you want to know what legalized drugs do to a community, look at the Swiss experiment in Zurich. In the early 1990s, the people of Zurich created "needle park" as a place where you could legally sell and use drugs. They thought this would control drug use and protect the rest of their fair city. They were wrong. Addicts from all over Europe flooded into Zurich. Drug pushers from all over Europe flooded into Zurich. Quickly, needle park became a vomit-covered, needle-strewn wasteland. Violent crime rates soared near needle park. Surprise, surprise, the drug addicts and their pusher suppliers did not stay within the confines of needle park. Slowly but inexorably, needle park polluted more of Zurich. Recently, they gave the people of Switzerland the opportunity to vote on the legalization of drugs for the entire country. After looking at the failed experiment at needle park, the Swiss rejected drug legalization overwhelmingly. Finally, Gov. Johnson and his drug pushing supporters claim that drug use is a "victimless crime." Wrong again, governor. Wrong again. Talk to the mother or father of a drug addict. You will be talking with some victims of drug addiction. Talk to the addict's wife or her husband and tell me that this is a victimless crime. Talk to their children, their friends, their employers or teachers. Talk to the people whom drug addicts have robbed or beaten. Talk to the police officers whom drug addicts shot. Talk to the paramedics whom drug addicts bit. If you are still in doubt, talk to the brave souls who have escaped from drug addiction. They all will tell you that Gov. Johnson has no idea what he is talking about. The argument for legalization assumes that everyone knows what their tolerance level is. Let me tell you something. Virtually no one can take just a little bit of crack cocaine. If you take crack cocaine, it will take over your life. If you take crack cocaine, you will want ever more of it. Do you really believe that a drug addict strung out on government-certified LSD will be any less abusive of the drug because we have legalized it? Do you really think that the "legal" drug pushers will tell folks to only buy and use a little bit of heroin? No my friends, if we legalize drugs, "legitimate" business people will spend billions getting as many new users addicted as possible. Want to know what a country looks like when we string it out on drugs? Go back to the Opium Wars and look at China. What Gov. Johnson is really saying is that resisting temptation is hard. That is the only thing that he says that makes sense. Resisting temptation is hard. However, making hard choices is what life is about. If we believe that personal responsibility is central to the survival of our great country, we cannot allow elected officials to push drugs on our children. If we believe that overcoming adversity is central to the American dream, we cannot allow elected officials to push drug use on our children. If we believe that saying no to temptation builds character and character matters, we cannot allow elected officials to turn America into a nation of drug addicts. If Gov. Gary Johnson's nightmare vision for America deeply disturbs you, let him and your elected officials know how you feel. Gov. Johnson's e-mail address is: gov gov.state.nm.us. Tell him to "Just Say No to Drugs!" John Doggett is a management consultant, lawyer, and business school professor who lives in Austin, Texas. Talkers Magazine has selected John as one of the 100 Most Influential Radio Talk Show Hosts in America. Headway Magazine has selected John as one of the 20 Most Influential Black Conservatives in America. OCTOBER 08 1999 © 1999 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.    Governor Johnson Comes to Washington - DRC Net http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3204.shtml
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Comment #18 posted by Alice500 on July 17, 2002 at 17:49:55 PT:
Marijuana
Let's talk about the facts. The War on Drugs has been going on in America since around 1920. Have the drugs stopped being used? No, we all know that; how many people do you know that use drugs. I know that I have met numerous users. Have the drugs decreased in supply? No. A drug buy that was an enormous drug bust in the 1970's (a few billion dollars) is scoffed at today as being "not even worth the trouble" by law enforcement. As far as the elimination of pushers goes, of course it will. Why would a person buy drugs from a pusher that could be mixed with rat poison or arsenic for a HIGHER price, when the same person can stroll on down to the local pharmacy and buy a pure version of the same drug for less. People are going to do drugs. Do your research and you will find that people have done many drugs since the beginning of time. Read in the bible where it talks about the mandrake root. Mandrake is a drug. Look it up.
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Comment #17 posted by ANOY. on April 12, 2001 at 10:42:28 PT
I agree.
i totally agree with this article. i find it straight foward, to the point, and it has great arguments.i look forward to more anti-drug articles.
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Comment #16 posted by dfu on February 06, 2001 at 04:48:28 PT
zxdfhzxzdhdh
oh 4 god's sake\! this is all amde, both sides r!!!
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Comment #15 posted by Da Boss on November 27, 2000 at 21:55:15 PT:
You Suck You Lying Pigs
You suck.
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Comment #14 posted by Glenn Kambic on July 04, 2000 at 15:36:37 PT:
reply
I think this is the most ignorant war on drugs propaganda I've read. Drugs need to be legalized and prices need to be lower and controled. The reason drugs are expensive is because they are illegal. If they were cheap addicts would not have to steal to get them. When was the last time someone mugged someone for a six pack. You are very uninformed and we are still losing the war on drugs, badly. Wasting millions of dallors a year. mabey we should try somethig else! 
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on October 09, 1999 at 10:02:19 PT:
Remarkable Comments!
Thanks everyone for all your great comments. McCaffrey just doesn't have a place in being the head of the Drug War because he refuses to look at it in any other light then military. We Could use Joselyn Elders or someone like her to be our Drug Czar and things would change and fast!
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Comment #12 posted by myopinion on October 09, 1999 at 05:34:30 PT
Incredible Article!
Dogget's article is so full of inaccuracies, innuendo, name calling and outright lies it is absolutely amazing.Governor Johnson, an athlete who eschews any type of drugs(legal or illegal), has actually had the courage to speakout against the war on people's psyches and their freedoms.As an adult I can go out and purchase the dangerous and addictive drugs alcohol and tobacco, get presciption pain-killers from a doctor, sniff solvents and engage in any number of dangerous activities BUT I DON'T because I KNOWTHEY ARE DANGEROUS!!! Education works far better thanProhibition! To even suggest (as the Governor does)that responsible adults might make intelligent choices ontheir own flies in the face of most of the Prohibitionistswho feel they are better suited to make these decisions forus. Yet to even suggest that we should open up the subject for examination and debate is so reviled and shouted down with hysterical "we must protect the children" rhetoric(and I am a Parent)is to be branded "one of the most dangerous politicians in the world." Better to keep itillegal, demonize it, keep obscene,unregulated,, untaxed profits in the hands of organized crime and tell theAmerican public the WOD is working. If the politicians wereforbidden from taking campaign contributions from the Alcohol, Tobacco, Pharmaceutical, and numerous other lobbieswe might hear the Truth for a change!! 
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Comment #11 posted by Doc-Hawk on October 08, 1999 at 21:12:38 PT:
John Doggett's email Address
The email address for John (Gee..I'd like to be a Drug Czar too) Doggett is: doggett imdc.com .Let him know what you think!
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Comment #10 posted by Doc-Hawk on October 08, 1999 at 21:09:00 PT:
Well said / Repost of Rebuttal
Very well put Jean.I have reposted the article and rebuttals at the address below, in the correct order and some typos fixed, along with the "brain table" in a form that might be easier to read. It is long but worth it. It requires Microsoft Word 6 or better (sorry).Any clues who "observer" might be? I have a guess, but am not sure. Pardon the construction on my site. It is new, and should be up by the 30th anniversary of the date shown on the site. The article is near the bottom.Doc
WarOnSomeDrugs
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Comment #9 posted by Jeaneous on October 08, 1999 at 18:30:04 PT:
Had to write this fool!!
I see another Mr. Barry in this man,.... sickening. He misrepresented Governor Johnson in many ways and as I said in my letter.. that is a much worse crime that putting a drug into our own bodies. Sir,I would say that you forget a major issue in this... That as free citizens of a free country,we should have the right to make our own decisions about what we do to our own bodies,without having the government tell us.What Governor Johnson is doing is putting the drug issue out in public to finally have anopen debate about it. Until this point in time, it has been a ruled issue without the peoplehaving any say in the approach used to deal with drug issues.The report that came out that stated that 70% of drug users hold down full time jobs andare productive citizens should tell you something. There will always be personalities thatwill be addicted to one thing if not another, then there are the average citizens that can usedrugs recreationally without becoming addicted. It should be a citizens own personaldecision the same as it is with alcohol. There are many alcoholics out there that will neverbe able to live productive lives and that will do great harm to many others. Yet, thegovernment allows alcohol to be legal because of the results of prohibition did not controlalcohol, nor control who would continue to use it regardless of the consequences.Drugs are being dealt with the same as alcohol was and it is having the same effect, exceptin this day and age, incarceration has become the "solution". Incarceration does not stopdrugs. Drugs are just as available in jails and prisons as out on the street. Prohibition willnever be the solution to any personal choice issues in this country. It will only increase thecrime rate and cost billions of dollars to keep building jails and prisons to hold people whohave made a personal physical choice of using a drug.Governor Johnson is one of the first men to actually be willing to look at alternatives toour drug policies. Alternatives that will not ruin a persons life for doing something totheir own body. He has not suggested unregulated legalization of all drugs. So youmisquote him. He suggests that prescriptions be necessary for the drugs you so easilythrow out there, like, crack, heroin, LSD has never even been mentioned. Youmisrepresent this man, and that is a crime worse that what a person chooses to do tothemselves. This country is based on freedom... and like it or not, using drugs is a matter of personalfreedom to put into your body what you choose. The government could spend all of theirmoney and use all of their officers and military and would still never be able to rid theUnited States of drugs or people who choose to use them.If Governor Johnson is so wrong in his view and everyone that uses illegal drugs has to bepunished, then wonderful Governor Bush would owe jailtime to this country and bedisqualified as a presidential candidate.It is time for a new approach and I applaud Governor Johnson for being willing to bringthe issue into the pubic forum so that a more reasonable, more effective, less expensiveapproach can be formed.Jean Cowsert146 Brodie West Ct.Galt, CA 95632
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Comment #8 posted by Rob earing on October 08, 1999 at 15:13:38 PT:
Wadda load!
I am not just saying this 'cause I'm a smug Canadian(which I am),but this clown makes all of America look like a banana republic.Please give this guys address to one of the militia groups and tell them he bad mouthed them.Or plant some weed in his car and tell the troopers.The article is an excellent insight into the minds of the corporate drug war drones you have running your country.If only you could produce electricity from ignorance...this cat would light up a city!
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Comment #7 posted by observer on October 08, 1999 at 15:02:17 PT
rebuttal, part 6 
>  Finally, Gov. Johnson and his drug pushing supporters>  claim that drug use is a "victimless crime." Wrong again,>  governor. Wrong again.Right again, Right again. Using drugs harms the individualwho uses them, not others.>  Talk to the mother or father of a drug addict. You will>  be talking with some victims of drug addiction. Talk to>  the addict's wife or her husband and tell me that this is a>  victimless crime. Talk to their children, their friends, their>  employers or teachers. Talk to the people whom drug>  addicts have robbed or beaten. Talk to the police>  officers whom drug addicts shot. Talk to the paramedics>  whom drug addicts bit. If you are still in doubt, talk to>  the brave souls who have escaped from drug addiction.By Doggetts convenient criteria, anything anyone else does notnot like, make that person a "victim". And here again, Doggettwants us to forget that prohibition itself raises the pricesof drugs, thereby causing crime. And makes turf battles possible,as alcohol Prohibition made Al Capone's turn battles possible.>  They all will tell you that Gov. Johnson has no idea what>  he is talking about.Another emotive misstatement. see "When Cops Become the Gangsters" by  Joseph D. McNamara, Retired Police Chief of San Jose http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1033/a04.html etc.>  The argument for legalization assumes that everyone>  knows what their tolerance level is. Another straw man. Governor Johnson never made this argument.>  Let me tell you something. Sure, but we'll want to check what you say. And very carefully, given the rest of this piece.>  Virtually no one can take just a little bit of>  crack cocaine. If you take crack cocaine, it will take>  over your life. If you take crack cocaine, you will want>  ever more of it.People stop using crack cocaine every day. They stop, theydon't use it again, and miss it not. >  Do you really believe that a drug addict strung out on>  government-certified LSD will be any less abusive of the>  drug because we have legalized it? "Strung out" means "addicted". (Unless Doggett is equivocating here again.) Yet LSD is not addictive. Again, Doggett needs to get his facts straight.>  Do you really think>  that the "legal" drug pushers will tell folks to only buy>  and use a little bit of heroin? Last time I vistited my state's Alcohol Beverage Control stores,the "pushers" there did not try to sell me anything. I purchasedContreau; nobody even hinted that I should pick up some Grand Marnieras well!> No my friends, if we>  legalize drugs, "legitimate" business people will spend>  billions getting as many new users addicted as possible.I seriously doubt that. Just as tobbacco advertizing is restricted, so ads for drugs like cannabis will be even more restricted.>  Want to know what a country looks like when we string>  it out on drugs? Go back to the Opium Wars and look>  at China.Since he knows we can't go back, I suppose Doggett wants us to take his word?  Why doesn't he suggest that we examine a (formerly)free nation like America prior to the Harrison Narcotic Act? Perhapsbecause he would find that a smaller percentage of people used hard drugs even when they were available over the counter, than use now?>  What Gov. Johnson is really saying is that resisting>  temptation is hard. No, but this is an (almost) clever literary flourish that Doggett makes here ... Johnson never addressed the moral and religiousissue of "temptation".>  That is the only thing that he says that makes sense. I would say that Doggett like to fabricate the words thatDoggett would like for others to say, but that would be an understatement.> Resisting temptation is hard. However,>  making hard choices is what life is about.Telling the truth about difficult subjects, telling the Emperorthat he has no clothes is hard too. It is a shame that Doggettis unable to rise to the occasion.>  If we believe that personal responsibility is central to the>  survival of our great country, I'm not sure I want Doggett's idea of "personal responsibility"to be the basis for throwing adult Americans in jail, for usinga plant that all Americans were free to use until 1937.> we cannot allow elected>  officials to push drugs on our children. Suggesting that adults not be thrown in jail for using drugs is not the same as to "push drugs on our children."> If we believe that>  overcoming adversity is central to the American dream,Glittering generalities; platitudes. >  we cannot allow elected officials to push drug use on>  our children. Decrying that adults are thrown in jail for using drugs, very different from "push[ing] drugs on our children." Again, Doggett plays fast and loose with the truth.> If we believe that saying no to temptation>  builds character and character matters, we cannot allow>  elected officials to turn America into a nation of drug>  addicts.Not throwing adults in jail for using drugs is no more"turn[ing] America into a nation of drug addicts", than not jailingboozers is `turning America into a nation of alcoholics.'>  If Gov. Gary Johnson's nightmare vision for America>  deeply disturbs you, let him and your elected officials>  know how you feel. Gov. Johnson's e-mail address is:>  gov gov.state.nm.us. Tell him to "Just Say No to>  Drugs!"And if you think Governor Johnson is correct, likewisewrite him a note of support ... gov gov.state.nm.us  mailto:gov gov.state.nm.us
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Comment #6 posted by observer on October 08, 1999 at 15:01:47 PT
rebuttal, part 5
>  Isn't it ironic that as the federal government sues big>  tobacco for producing a dangerous product, a>  Republican governor calls for the legalization of>  cocaine? What linkage does the federal policy have with the freely expressed opinions of a state governor?>  Isn't it ironic that most people who support the>  legalization of drugs want to ban guns? Isn't it ironic that>  most people who want to legalize drugs support the>  murder of babies and oppose the death penalty?Really? I suppose that we must take Doggett's good wordfor these ironclad correlations, as we take his word for allhis other assertions in this charming piece.>  Gov. Johnson says that if we regulate the sale of hard>  drugs, people will use them responsibly. Again, a misrepresentation (straw man) of what Johnson actually said,but we've come to expect this from Doggett.> What planet does he come from? More insult from Doggett. But insult doth not a reason make.> Do you want a pilot to use cocaine>  or LSD before flying? Not any more so than I would want a pilot tobe drunk, hungover, or just upset from an argumentwith is wife.  >  Do you want the government to>  set maximum blood content levels for crank, ice or>  crack, to decide what "driving under the influence" is?>  That's what we will have to have if Gov. Johnson gets>  his way. In other words, Doggett suggests that we simply lock everyoneup who has any blood content level? Is that fair? How doesthe punishment fit the crime in Doggett's dream world? It doesn't.>  Do you want a school bus driver buying>  government-certified LSD? More inflamatory absuridities: Johnson never suggestedthat bus drivers take LSD any more than he suggested thatthey drink and drive. Let's repeat what Johnson reallydid say:   " Those dangerous drugs, Johnson said, should have even   more restrictions on their sale and use than marijuana,   such as perhaps requiring a doctor's prescription and   being administered in a hospital or clinic.   ``I don't want to see it in grocery stores,'' Johnson told   reporters. ``I'm assuming that wouldn't happen. The more   dangerous the perception of the drug, the more control   there would be.'' "   [N.M. Gov. Clarifies Drugs Position ,   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1085.a11.html ]> Do you want the>  government telling our children that drug use is OK?Governor Johnson is suggesting that drug use is bad, but thatwe shouldn't jail adults for simply using drugs. He neversaid that "drug use is OK" or remotely said that the government should condone anything.>  That's Gary Johnson's dream for America.Hardly; it looks like we were just treated to another John Doggett Straw Man Special!>  If you want to know what legalized drugs do to a>  community, look at the Swiss experiment in Zurich. In>  the early 1990s, the people of Zurich created "needle>  park" as a place where you could legally sell and use>  drugs. They thought this would control drug use and>  protect the rest of their fair city. They were wrong.>  Addicts from all over Europe flooded into Zurich. Drug>  pushers from all over Europe flooded into Zurich.>  Quickly, needle park became a vomit-covered,>  needle-strewn wasteland. Violent crime rates soared>  near needle park. Surprise, surprise, the drug addicts>  and their pusher suppliers did not stay within the>  confines of needle park. Slowly but inexorably, needle>  park polluted more of Zurich.Please note: herion addicts in Switzerland are given that drug by their government...  '' Swiss police records reveal a reduction close to  70 per cent in crime by those on the heroin-prescription  program of that country, and that this reduction can  be expected in just six months. ''  http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n796/a11.html  '' Dr Wodak is convinced of the merits of the Swiss  project. Between 1992 and 1998, annual deaths from  overdose have fallen in that country from 419 to  209. They have doubled in Australia over the same period. ''  http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n774/a01.html  etc.Again, we see that Doggett seems to be playing on whathe appears to assume is the ignorance of his audience.But this is the age of the internet. Propagandists likeDoggett can't cover up for much longer.>  Recently, they gave the people of Switzerland the>  opportunity to vote on the legalization of drugs for the>  entire country. After looking at the failed experiment at>  needle park, the Swiss rejected drug legalization>  overwhelmingly.   '' SWITZERLAND CONTINUES TO HAND OUT HEROIN TO ADDICTS   BERN. Switzerland's legal prescription programme involving handing out   heroin to addicts is being made permanent this weekend. This Thursday the   upper chamber in Bern voted yes to the proposal, 30 for and 4 against.   So far the prescription of legal heroin, morphine and methadone to about 800   drug abusers has been carried out on an experimental basis. Now it is   estimated that the number of drug abusers who will have legal access to the   drugs will increase to at least 2000. Many of them have failed with other   treatment programmes.   The experimental prescription programme has been going on since 1994, and   a study after 3 years concluded that the project radically decreased   criminality, suffering and mortality among the participating drug abusers. In a   referendum in September last year 71% of the Swiss people said yes to a   more liberal approach to narcotics. ''   http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98/n907/a01.html Oct, 1998 
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Comment #5 posted by observer on October 08, 1999 at 14:10:40 PT
rebuttal, part 4
>  The difference is that>  marijuana-induced highs and withdrawals are more>  gradual. There are many differences between the stimulating effectsof cocaine, and the halucinogenic and analgesic effects of cannabis.>  As a result, many marijuana users develop the>  misconception that if they can "handle" pot, they can>  handle other drugs. Ironic Doggett should mention something like this. Many believethat when marijuana users learn their government was lying to them about marijuana, they assume that the goverment lies about other things, also.>  Did I mention that smoking>  marijuana has many of the same health impacts on your>  respiratory system as smoking tobacco?Inhaling smoke from a campfire likewise has "many of the same health impacts on your respiratory system as smoking tobacco".>  Gov. Johnson wants to treat heroin, crank, ice, crack,>  LSD, roofies and a whole host of hard drugs like>  alcohol. Why would we ever want to do that? He never did; Doggett is just handing us more misrepresentations.Here's what Johnson really said:  "  He said marijuana is the best candidate to be legalized first,  followed by more dangerous drugs such as heroin or cocaine, the  other illegal drug Johnson has admitted having used.    Those dangerous drugs, Johnson said, should have even more  restrictions on their sale and use than marijuana, such as  perhaps requiring a doctor's prescription and being administered  in a hospital or clinic.    ``I don't want to see it in grocery stores,'' Johnson told  reporters. ``I'm assuming that wouldn't happen. The more  dangerous the perception of the drug, the more control there  would be.'' "  [ N.M. Gov. Clarifies Drugs Position (Oct 5, 1999),  http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1085.a11.html ]So, we see that Johnson does not want to treat "heroin, crank, ice, crack, LSD, roofies and a whole host of hard drugs like alcohol" as Doggett asserts;rather Johnson suggests such "should have even more restrictions on their sale and use ... perhaps requiring a doctor's prescription and being administered in a hospital or clinic."You know what? I don't think Doggett had a concern in the worldwith even attempting to tell the truth about Governor Johnson'spositions.> Crack,>  for example, is highly addictive. When an addict is high>  on crack, he or she can become extremely violent and>  will do anything to get more crack. It intensifies the "fight or flight" response; the flip side of the intensification of the "fight" is that other people "can" become even more passive after taking stimulants ("flight"). Not pretty or healthy but Doggett as usual attempts to stack up only the sides of things that bolster prohibition. Things are not so simple.> Legalization doesn't>  change the body's chemistry. Someone addicted to>  "U.S. Government Certified Crack Cocaine" will be just>  as messed up as those addicted to illegal crack cocaine>  today. Hardly: they will not be paranoid that a black-hooded and armed thugs will break in to shoot them and steal their house, car and anythingelse worth stealing (i.e. the friendly local police SWAT team). The price of US Gov't Certified Durgs would be low, the purity known.This would eliminate mush of the misery associated with the drugsthat comes from prohibition, not from attributes of the drugs themselves.Using drugs is a poor practice. But when the goverment uses drugs as an excuse to oppress hapless subjects that is an abomination.> Because it is legal, every day they will see ads on>  television and in the press extolling the virtues of every>  drug under the sun. Hardly: just as tobacco advertizing is severly limited, thereis every reason to believe that drugs will be treated similarly when the freedom to use them is restored to adult Americans.> Does that vision of America excite you?What excites is the thought of an America that has a free and independentpress, and honest, probing journalists. I'm afraid Mr Doggett leaves many cold in that regard.
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Comment #4 posted by observer on October 08, 1999 at 14:09:21 PT
rebuttal, part 3
> Today, the mob is as deeply involved>  in the distribution and sale of liquor as it was at the end>  of Prohibition. "At the end of Prohibition"? If he means during prohibition, then he is incorrect. Any verifiable references that Doggettmight have made to support his point might have been a big helpto his argument.> There is no way that the drug lords will>  stop their evil work just because we have legalized>  drugs. Just as bootleggers and moonshiners were undercut by the restoration of the legal liquor trade in post-prohibitionAmerica, so shall nacrotrafficers once again be replaced bylegitamite companies.>  In fact, it will "legitimize" them and turn our law>  enforcement community into enforcers for "legalized">  drug pushers.Uh yeah ... just as the police are now "enforcers for 'legalized'" motorcycle "pushers".>  Gov. Johnson says marijuana is harmless. He never said that at all. I think Doggett just made this up:a straw man, cut from whole cloth, as it were.  http://www.marijuananews.com/is_marijuana_really_harmless.htm>  That's not what scientists have found. Depends on the "scientist" ... many "scientists" that are paidto exagerate Reefer Madness attemp to do just that...But when "scientists" find things about marijuana that politicosdon't like, then the report is censored.  '' Health officials in Geneva have suppressed the  publication of a politically sensitive analysis that  confirms cannabis is safer than alcohol or tobacco.  http://marijuana.newscientist.com/nsplus/insight/drugs/marijuana/news.html  Meanwhile, a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture  assessing the potential of hemp growing has made the rounds  of the federal government. The report's beige cover is  stamped "Classified." ''  http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1077.a10.html> Marijuana is a gateway drug. " ... because underage smoking and alcohol use typically precede marijuana use, marijuana is not the most common, and is rarely the first, "gateway" to illicit drug use. There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs." [ Institute of Medicine Report, 3/99, This study was supported under contract No. DC7C02 from the Executive Office of the President, Office of the National Drug Control Policy. ] see http://www.drugsense.org/iom_report/ http://www.marijuananews.com/executive_summary_of_the_iom_rep.htm etc.>  Marijuana conditions your body for more serious drugs>  because marijuana affects the same part of the brain as>  heroin and cocaine. "The same part" etc. Doggett not very precise here, is he?Brain regions in which cannabinoid receptors are abundant* Brain Region                Functions Associated with Region Brain regions in which cannabinoid receptors are abundant Basal ganglia   Substantia nigra pars reticulate   Entopeduncular nucleus   Globus pallidus   Putamen                Movement control Cerebellum                Body-movement coordination Hippocampus                Learning and memory, stress Cerebral cortex, especially cingulate, frontal, and parietal regions                Higher cognitive functions Nucleus accumbens                Reward center Brain regions in which cannabinoid brain receptors are moderately concentrated Hypothalamus                Body housekeeping functions                (body-temperature regulation, salt and                water balance, reproductive function) Amygdala                Emotional response, fear Spinal cord                Peripheral sensation, including pain Brain Stem                Sleep and arousal, temperature                regulation, motor control Central gray                Analgesia Nucleus of the solitary tract                Visceral sensation, nausea and                vomiting* Based on reviews by Pertwee 1997 124 and Herkenham 199557 This table willbe accompanied by a figure. Table 2.5 from http://www.drugsense.org/iom_report/I'm not so sure the exact same parts are involved, as Doggett claims.
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Comment #3 posted by observer on October 08, 1999 at 14:08:20 PT
rebuttal, part 2
>  Let's look at Gov. Johnson's arguments one by one.Shall we?>  The governor says that the War on Drugs is a failure.This is obvious to all but the most hard-core prohibitionists.>  He is wrong. Crime statistics show that drug use,>  drug-related murders and spending on illegal drugs have>  all gone down. And there is no evidence that the laws have anything to do withthis, indeed, many argue that these things would have decreasedregardless of drug policy, or would have decreased even more so.To assert that the a lowering of certian crime statistics were caused by prohibition is a fallacy. see http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/posthoc.htm> It is true that the War on Drugs is>  hideously expensive. The cost to our liberties is something that is not considered here, either.> It is true that we now know that>  many more people use drugs than we thought in the>  past. Guess what? That's what happens when you shine>  a light into a cave. You see things hidden in the dark."The dark" ... more prejudicial language. Using cannabis, a traditional, remedy was never considered evil until prohibitionists declared it so only this century in America.Many reject such a false and politically expedient morality.>  However, exposing the dangers of drug use and>  arresting, prosecuting and jailing drug pushers is the>  price we must pay to save our society from this devil's>  plague.Interesting how Doggett conflates merely "exposing the dangers of drug use" with "arresting, prosecuting and jailing drug pushers" ... implying that those adults who choose to use drugs that Americans were once free to take are not persecuted. Of course, this is not true:users are arrested, shot, beaten, jailed and have their property stolen by the government. Prohibitionists likeDoggett are not so forthright in their descriptions of this government's villification and persecution of drug users.>  Gov. Johnson thinks that if we legalize drugs, the drug>  lords will roll over and go away. Nobody "rolls over and goes away". (Doggett's descriptionsof those with whom he disagrees are straw men). But now we have little "Al Capones" selling crack in every city in the nation, gunning down rival Al Capones for a street corner turf. Please note: that doesn't happen with alcohol. But it did when alcohol was prohibited.>  Wrong again. The drug business is the most violent and >  profitable business in the world. The alcohol business likewise became "violent and profitable"when it too was made illegal. Sometimes it takes a whileto learn a lesson, though.>  What makes anyone think that the drug>  billionaires and their hatchlings will walk away from a>  "successful business" just because we have legalized it?Yes, because there will be no profit in it. Will the gangsterscreated and enriched by drog prohibition become choir boyswhen adult Americans once again have restored to them their traditional freedom to place whatever substances in theirbodies they choose? I doubt that gangsters will become choir boys overnight. But they won't be enriched by obscene prohibition-caused profits then, either.>  Did the end of prohibition end mobster influence in the>  alcohol industry? It was greatly reduced when prohibition ended.
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Comment #2 posted by Alexandre Oeming on October 08, 1999 at 14:08:02 PT:
Irresponsible
This is one of the most irresponsible things i could think of for someone with such reach to be saying. He obviously knows less than nothing about the drugs he's talking about. Unfortunately, the morons who listen and get influenced by him are going to listen, not think, and come to the "logical" conclusion that Johnson wants heroin in crackerjack boxes or something ridiculous like that. Why does our society breed the majority as either sheep or liars who do their very best to lead the sheep astray? I've never really felt like a minority before, but maybe i should ... the intellectual and thinking minority. A pity i have to be so marginalized. America!: aspire towards mediocrity!
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Comment #1 posted by observer on October 08, 1999 at 14:07:40 PT
rebuttal, part 1
>  Do you know who Gary Johnson is? You should,>  because Gary Johnson, the two-term libertarian>  Republican governor of New Mexico, is one of the>  most dangerous politicians in the world.Start of with a little poisoning of the well,attempting to smear one who suggests that the law might be changed, as "dangerous". (fallacy: attacking the person.)>  Gov. Johnson wants the federal government to legalize>  drugs In other words, return to adult Americans some of the samefreedoms all Americans once shared. Scary concept forthose who prefer authoritarian governments to handle!> and then make money off people's misery.Governor Johnson is suggesting that prohibitionenhances misery more than drugs alone ever could.The good governor never suggested profiting from "misery.">  Listen to what Gov. Johnson told college students in>  Washington, D.C., Monday.>>    "I hate to say it, but the majority of people who>    use drugs use them responsibly. They choose>    when to do it. They do them at home. It's not a>    financial burden."Right ... perhaps Johnson was thinking of this study: 7 In 10 Drug Users Work Full-Time  http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n981/a13.html  http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n985/a10.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n983/a01.html etc.>    "You're brought up learning that drugs make you>    crazy. 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.""a lie"? Maybe he was thinking about Barry McCaffery, see Drug Czar Lies Again About the Dutch  http://www.marijuananews.com/drug_czar_lies_about_the_dutch_a.htm Is Truth a Casualty of the Drug War?  http://www.csdp.org/ads/pinocchio.htm ,  http://www.csdp.org/ads/ etc.>    "There are going to be new problems under>    legalization, but I submit to you they are going to>    be about half of what they are today under the>    prohibition model."Many believe that the "drug problem" is made much worseby making drug illegal in the first place.>  Gary Johnson says he used marijuana and cocaine in>  college. Gary Johnson believes that because he could>  "safely" use drugs, most people can. Sorry. Johnson never said anything like that.>  The Associated Press says that Johnson 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;>  we would ban public drug use, and penalties for crimes>  such as driving under the influence would be increased.Not locking up adults for using drugs is a most reasonablesuggestion. Listening to prohibitionists like Doggett, you'dnever learn that the current prohibitionist laws were neverhanded down from God. In America they are a product of the 20th century. Big, socialist government knows best; dare todisagree and you'll be thrown in jail.>  That, in a nutshell, is Gov. Johnson's frightening vision>  for America.More prejudicial language ("frightening vision"); no information given, however.
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