New Mexico was in the national spotlight Monday when — I’m embarrassed to say — Republican Gov. Gary Johnson took to the national airwaves yet again on ABC’s “Nightline” in his seemingly endless criticism of our country’s war on drugs.
Although “Nightline” focused on a heroin epidemic in northern New Mexico, Johnson also used the opportunity to push a package of what he called “leading-edge drug-reform measures.”
The drug reform package proposes that the state Legislature decriminalize personal usage and possession of “small amounts” of marijuana, and lower the criminal charges for first-and second-time possession of drugs such as heroin, cocaine and LSD.
During the show, Johnson said people who smoke marijuana in the privacy of their own homes do no harm to anybody other than themselves and do not belong in jail.
But what would be the results of a successful bid to decriminalize marijuana? Is the whole idea as harmless as Johnson and the folks at NORML, the National Association for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, want you to believe, or is there more to this than initially meets the eye?
Kevin Jackson, executive director of the New Mexico Family Policy Research Council, said he is gravely concerned about Johnson’s ongoing attempts to decriminalize marijuana. He pointed out that the Johnson administration has not addressed, for example, the issue of driving impaired under the influence of marijuana.
“And the technologies are not readily available to determine or convict people that are stopped under the impairment of marijuana. (If Johnson’s proposal becomes a reality) you will see traffic accidents up, you will see fatalities back up in New Mexico and when you mix alcohol and marijuana then you really have a problem,” Jackson said.
Johnson also proposed to allow the medical use of marijuana for cancer sufferers and those with other serious medical conditions. However, Jackson said research has shown that the case for medical marijuana is one that “doesn’t hold water” for a number of reasons.
Robert Maginnis, a senior policy analyst with the Family Research Council, a Washington, D.C.-based education and research organization, carefully laid out those reasons in an article on FRC’s Web site, www.frc.org.
For example, using marijuana as a medicine is widely rejected by such groups as the American Medical Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Cancer Society. In addition, marijuana is addictive and has many adverse health effects.
Quoted in the same article, Donna Shalala, former secretary of Health & Human Services, said: “There is clear scientific evidence that marijuana is harmful to one’s brain, heart, and lungs. It limits learning, memory, perception, judgment and complex motor skills like those needed to drive a vehicle. It has been shown to damage motivation and interest in one’s goals and activities. It can cause chronic coughing and bronchitis. In short, it is a very dangerous drug.”
Jackson added, “The stepping stone of legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes is only an inroad for full legalization in accordance with NORML’S plans.”
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The dangers of Johnson’s drug advocacy extend even beyond the harm caused by drugs themselves.
“I strongly object to (Johnson) doing interviews in Penthouse and Playboy,” Jackson said. “That has caused people who don’t bring pornography into their house to buy it, exposing their family to it. Many people have told me ‘I’ve never read a Playboy in my life or I’ve never purchased a Penthouse, but since our governor has used that medium to share his viewpoints, I went ahead and bought it.’”
Consequently, Jackson said Johnson is sending a very bad message as New Mexico’s leader.
“Not only of drug permissiveness for our youth but it also has encouraged the spreading of pornography,” he said
So is a permissive attitude toward drugs something that the Republican Party wants to be known for? Not this Republican or, I believe, most of the party’s true base, despite Johnson’s comment during the “Nightline” show that he considers his proposed New Mexico legislation to be “very Republican.”
Jackson said that Johnson’s proposal is not Republican or Democrat.
“And in my opinion it’s not even an American thing to do,” Jackson said. “Drugs ... significantly hurt families.”
So, what’s the answer? Is it to give up on politics in disgust? No, the solution is to “stay the course” and be more involved than ever. Your involvement probably won’t change the world.
However, it will positively impact the lives of a few people, one at a time. And it will help them realize that if they visit the www.norml.org Web site, see a picture of Johnson and read that he is speaking at a NORML conference, his well-publicized views only represent a minority — albeit a vocal and high-profile minority — of New Mexicans.
