Staff Report
A debate taped at UNM for National Public Radio between Drug Enforcement chief Asa Hutchinson and former Gov. Gary Johnson won first place in the Nancy Dickerson Whitehead awards for excellence in reporting this year.
The debate, which took place in September and was taped before 600 people, was titled Directing America's Drug War: Which way to a Safer Society? as part of the NPR show Justice Talking.
"The topic is not only important, but it's one that rarely gets discussed in a serious forum with top flight people," said Justice Talking host Margot Adler in a UNM press release. "We were fortunate to have the new head of the Drug Enforcement Administration agree not only to talk with us, but to debate the opposition."
Adler added that although Hutchinson was new on the job, he knew he was doing this on enemy turf, with New Mexico being one of his most formidable opponents. Former Governor Gary Johnson, for example, used his position in the state to argue for the reform of all drug laws.
Justice Talking is a weekly one-hour radio show produced by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. "Directing America's Drug War: Which Way to a Safer Society?" was produced in conjunction with KUNM.
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