cannabisnews.com: Johnson Turns To New Drug Issues










  Johnson Turns To New Drug Issues

Posted by FoM on June 02, 2001 at 07:02:32 PT
By Steve Terrell,The New Mexican 
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican  

Gov. Gary Johnson - who has been hailed as a hero by drug-reform activists at a national conference here this week - told reporters Friday that there are two more drug-related issues that have grabbed his attention.One is the issue of people who are out of prison on probation and get sent back to prison if they test positive for marijuana. Johnson said this creates a "revolving door" and serves no purpose. The other issue is the role of undercover police agents in drug arrests. 
The governor contended that many drug-trafficking cases involve drug users who are "hounded" by narcotics agents to sell."I want to clean up injustices," Johnson said during a break at the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation's annual conference, which is being held at the Hyatt-Regency. Although Johnson was not on Friday's program, he attended several sessions of the conference, which is titled Drug Policies for the New Millennium.Johnson did not have specific proposals for either the probation issue or the undercover-police issue. He said he wants to have his administration look for possible solutions and take a "legislative approach" to these issues.Earlier this year Johnson proposed a package of eight drug-reform bills - most of which did not make it through the Legislature."Do we really have to lock up people on probation just because they're caught smoking marijuana?" Johnson said. "Are there other options besides putting them back in prison? Many people can't stay clean, so they can't stay out of prison. Is this a medical problem or a criminal problem?"Johnson said that besides cases in which officers find large amounts of drugs being transported in vehicles, nearly all drug-trafficking arrests are made by undercover police who arrange buys.The governor said he recently pardoned a man who had been in prison for trafficking marijuana. "He was on a baseball team, and he and some of his teammates used to smoke pot after the games," Johnson said. "An undercover agent talked him into selling pot."Johnson said he did not remember the pardoned man's name. Efforts to get the information from other administration officials were unsuccessful Friday.Any effort to curb undercover agents undoubtedly will arouse opposition from police. Asked about Johnson's remarks, Lt. Robert Olguin of the Santa Fe-based Region 3 multiagency narcotics task force says the undercover operation is a crucial tool in fighting the drug problem."We always try to get to the highest level of drug dealer," Olguin said.Although Johnson, a Republican, was praised at the conference by people of various political stripes, some speakers took shots at Republican President Bush, who counts Johnson as a supporter."I'm always defending him," Johnson said. "I still believe in George Bush. Look, even if Al Gore had been elected, there wouldn't be any major drug-policy reform in the first 100 days of office. Give him a little bit of a break." Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)Author: Steve Terrell, The New MexicanPublished: June 02, 2001 Copyright: 2001 The Santa Fe New MexicanContact: letters sfnewmexican.comWebsite: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/Related Articles & Web Site:TLC - DPFhttp://www.lindesmith.org/Speakers Have Wary Words for Pot-Law Reformershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9930.shtmlJustice Emphasized At Conference http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9929.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Governor Gary Johnsonhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=gary+johnson

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Comment #2 posted by Sudaca on June 05, 2001 at 13:10:10 PT
Johnsons a politician and a republican
I guess the GOP realizes somewhere that there is a power vacuum in the "droleg" crowd. That vacuum could be filled by a libertarian/republican as a leader which would lead the flock back to the elephant party. Johnson's championing an easy cause for someone with not much to loose and with the right background. The dude is untouchable by the common cynical commentary , he can be as sincere as he wants his party won't boot him (see the Dendahl episode) and prefers him to be out there. After all with his endorsement of Bush a number of optimists probably thought they had a better chanve with Dubya. To me this is smart of the Republicans. It's good to have Johnson on the side of reason; maybe if he were to become president you'd have reason to believe he might act on his vision. But BUSH???? COME ON!! The guy hasn't even intimated anything that would even make for a gram of hope! In terms of stopping the madness his only credential is that he enjoys the goodwill of Gary Johnson!
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Comment #1 posted by Rambler on June 03, 2001 at 00:44:11 PT
Strange
>"We always try to get to the highest level of drug dealer," Olguin said.What a farce.They "try" to get the highest level,but if the snitch that wascoerced,or bribed with a shorter sentence tells on his small time,formerfriend,then the friend goes to jail as the "highest level",even though mostpot people dont have any big business going."trying" doesnt count when innocent people are having their lives destroyed.>"Although Johnson, a Republican, was praised at the conference by people of various political stripes, some  speakers took shots at Republican President Bush, who counts Johnson as a supporter."I'm always defending him," Johnson said. "I still believe in George Bush."After being such a great guy,I cant believe he supports the shrub.He's probably just saying that,and pretending,in a plan to fake outdubya,and get him to be more pot friendly.
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