Sender: To: X-Original-Message-ID: <009301bf4df1$c9532630$9acf69cf@pacbell.net> From: "Peter McWilliams" Subject: Send Gov. Johnson a Christmas greeting! Date: Fri, 24 Dec 1999 01:32:24 -0800 X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 2nd article follows, Federal propaganda to detract from Johnson's stand: Pubdate: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 1999 Albuquerque Journal Contact: opinion@abqjournal.com Address: P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103 Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Author: Associated Press Note: A rare comment from MAP's Sr. Editor: We can not agree with this story. Gov. Johnson has his facts right. As those with a vested interest in prohibition fight the truth every way they can, of course they will seek to replace facts with propaganda. Governor Johnson is undoubtedly taking some tremendous heat from drug warriors for his courageous stand. He is the highest profile politician in the nation calling for a national debate on drug policy. He needs PLENTY of encouragement. Please consider calling his office to voice your opinion or faxing a copy of your letter to him. CALL Governor Johnson's Office (505) 827 3000 FAX Governor Johnson (505) 827 3026 Or send a note via the webform on his contact webpage at: http://164.64.43.1/opinion/Opinion.htm ~~~~~~~~~~ JOHNSON: PUBLIC DRUG DISCUSSION FRUITLESS Gov. Gary Johnson says his crusade to legalize drugs such as heroin and marijuana is going nowhere because opponents cannot agree on basic facts. "It's fruitless," Johnson said. "If the dialogue is going to advance, if the debate is going to advance, we've got to bottom out on what the facts are. This is truly fruitless." "I don't want to have any more debates if we can't arrive or acknowledge what the facts are on these issues," he said. Johnson, a Republican, has spent much of his time since June pressing for drug legalization and trying to lead a national debate on the issue. He said the war on drugs is a failure. Republican lawmakers disagreed with Johnson's drug reform campaign and have complained that it was detracting from other issues confronting the state. Johnson agreed Nov. 19 to tone down his advocacy for drug legalization at least through the 2000 legislative session, which convenes Jan. 18. Johnson said he realized that any more public discussion on legalizing drugs was fruitless after a televised debate last week with District Attorney Jeff Romero of Albuquerque. Johnson contended crime and drug-use rates in the Netherlands -- where marijuana has been decriminalized -- were lower than in the United States. Romero said the rates were higher. "I came to a revelation the other day in this debate with Romero, that what everybody was presented with were facts that were 180 degrees apart, and at this point, right now, I think this goes nowhere," Johnson said. He said he no longer would wage a lone fight against the government and its statistics. "It can't be just me on these facts, because the powerful powers that be are (running) the war on drugs," Johnson said. "We're talking about the establishment. We're talking about the status quo," he said. Johnson said he continues to welcome vigorous debate on how to solve the drug problem, but "can't continually respond to criticism about me because those critics are 180 degrees (in opposition) of my facts." "But any debate would have to agree ahead of time on what the facts are," he said. Johnson said that if he is invited to speak to a citizens group about drug legalization, he would decline or at least preface the discourse with a warning. "I spoke the other day at the Rotary Club in Albuquerque (about drug legalization) and I told them that what you need to understand is that everything I'm about to tell you is going to be disputed factually by the status quo," Johnson said. ########################### Pubdate: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM) Copyright: 1999 The Albuquerque Tribune. Contact: letters@abqtrib.com Website: http://www.abqtrib.com/ Author: Lance Gay ALBUQUERQUE HEROIN USE UP, DRUG CZAR SAYS Report Cites Increased Dealing And Use Of Mexican "Black Tar" Heroin In Albuquerque. WASHINGTON -- In spite of drug crackdowns, a new federal report says trafficking and use of Mexican "black tar" heroin is increasing in Albuquerque, and methamphetamine abuse is "increasing rapidly" across the state. The 216-page report by President Clinton's drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, also acknowledges that sophisticated drug smuggling across the Southwest border has increased under the North American Free Trade Agreement, which unintentionally made it easier for smugglers to hide illicit narcotics entering the United States in commercial shipments. "The large commercial infrastructure, enhanced by NAFTA, provides 'masking opportunities' for drug-trafficking organizations, which have become extremely sophisticated at concealing drugs and money in vehicles, cargo or trains crossing the border at the various ports of entry," the report says. The report describes the war on drugs in 31 battlegrounds across the United States, including the Southwest border, in the wake of increased efforts to get state, local and federal authorities to coordinate drug crackdowns nationwide. Congress this year allocated $190 million in taxpayer funds to so-called "high-intensity drug trafficking areas" across the nation -- up from $25 million allocated in 1990. McCaffrey said New Mexico's open and largely uninhabited desert areas bordering Mexico have traditionally been prime smuggling zones. But in the past five years, he said, increased cross-border commerce has resulted in a sharp increase in drug smuggling in both highway- and railroad-freight shipments. "Drug traffickers are increasingly exploiting the NAFTA provisions, which bring about significant increases in commercial trade," the report says. While Mexican marijuana remains the most commonly abused drug, the report says that "the availability of Mexican black tar heroin continues to increase in Albuquerque and Las Cruces, and both brown and white heroin have been encountered in recent seizures. Gangs facilitate much of the drug distribution that occurs at the street level, and are responsible for much of the drug-related violence in the region." The report linked Albuquerque's drug rings to "West Coast California gangs" and said that outlaw motorcycle gangs continue to operate the region's methamphetamine supply line. McCaffrey said that with the extra congressional funding, federal, state and local authorities are increasing intelligence-sharing and targeting border areas. The funding is also paying for Drug Enforcement Administration multiagency task forces in Albuquerque and Las Cruces to focus on local drug-trafficking groups. The report said there has been a surge in methamphetamine trafficking and use across the Midwest and Northwest of the United States, and that drug trafficking is no longer largely an urban problem. "What we really have is a series of local drug epidemics," McCaffrey said.