SHERIFF SAYS JOHNSON SHOULD STEP DOWN

Santa Fe County Sheriff Ray Sisneros angrily called for Gov. Gary Johnson's resignation Wednesday, saying the Republican leader's campaign for legalization of drugs, including heroin, "is giving the wrong impression to the young people."

"That is such an irresponsible position that I think the idiot should resign," Sisneros, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview. "He ought to go to Las Vegas (state hospital) for a psychiatric evaluation, or claim mental disability and let the lieutenant governor take over."

Neither the governor nor Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley could be reached for comment.

Sisneros said his ire wasn't sparked by partisan politics but by questions his deputies are fielding from youngsters as a result of the governor's position, such as,

"Are you guys going to quit enforcing drug laws?"

Sisneros made the comments on the same day about two dozen other sheriffs and police chiefs from around the state gathered at the Albuquerque Police Academy to announce their opposition to Johnson's drug-legalization stance.

"The biggest concern is what we are telling our kids when the governor says, 'Hey, it's going to be legal and it's OK.' It's not OK," Albuquerque Police Chief Joe Galvin said at the news conference.

(Marijuananews note: Why is it acceptable for a police chief to misrepresent what the state’s governor has said? Why doesn’t the paper report what he actually said?)
See
Governor Johnson Says Legalize Marijuana; Czar Has A Fit. 2 Articles

Roswell Police Chief Richard Campbell said he was not attacking Johnson personally, but "I do think the governor was irresponsible when he said smoking marijuana is cool" recently to a group of Washington, D.C., college students.
See
New Mexico Governor Speaks To Anti-Prohibitionist Student Group:
"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.''

Johnson has been speaking widely - including appearances on national TV - in support of legalization, calling the nation's drug war "a miserable failure" and saying most people use drugs responsibly and shouldn't be penalized. He also has expressed doubts about the effectiveness of substance-abuse treatment.

While castigating Johnson, members of the law enforcement group praised his public safety secretary, Darren White, for saying the governor's position is hurting the morale and credibility of New Mexico officers.

See below

Sandoval County Sheriff Ray Rivera, chairman of the Johnson's drug-enforcement council, said police now "catch hell" from drug dealers who argue that their activity is condoned by the governor.

And district attorneys are telling police that the governor's comments are being used as a criminal defense in court, Rivera said.

Santa Fe Police Chief John Denko said he would have liked to attend the news conference but couldn't.

"He is very misguided," Denko said about the governor.

Sisneros said that when Johnson began his current campaign by talking about a need for discussion on whether marijuana should be decriminalized, "that was fine." But a call for legalizing heroin and cocaine indicates "a chemical imbalance" in the governor.

In addition, Sisneros said, "All this is taking so much of our time, as law enforcement administrators, that it cuts into our time for other stuff that is more productive."

On Tuesday, the Santa Fe County Commission unanimously passed a resolution asking the governor to take a leadership role in combating drug use, abuse and addiction. The resolution also asks Johnson to visit county rehabilitation programs and the jail to learn about heroin and marijuana use.

"Gov. Gary Johnson's public statements favoring the legalization of marijuana and heroin use are blatant misdirection of the problem ... and show a lack of knowledge and sensitivity to the problem in his own state," the resolution says.

Commission Chairman Joe Grine said: "Here we are trying to find a solution to fight this problem and the governor is conveying a message that it's OK, there is nothing wrong with it. I'm not trying fight with the governor. I'm just trying to get him to acknowledge that what he says has a big impact, especially on adolescents."

In addition, Santa Fe City Councilor Peso Chavez has said he plans to introduce a resolution this month denouncing Johnson's drug stance as "irresponsible, thoughtless and careless."

He said the governor has done a disservice to parents, teachers and others who are trying to help children make wise decisions about drug use.

Copyright: 1999 The Santa Fe New Mexican

JOHNSON DRUG VIEW MORALE KILLER
(Marijuananews note: This is another line of argument against criticizing the prohibition. It hurts the feelings of the narks.)

October 13, 1999

From The Albuquerque Journal
opinion@abqjournal.com
http://www.abqjournal.com/
By Michael Coleman, Journal Staff Writer

Gov. Gary Johnson's support of drug legalization is damaging the morale and credibility of law officers across New Mexico, Public Safety Secretary Darren White said Tuesday.

"It's a major morale killer," White said. "These guys feel he doesn't appreciate what we are doing." White, first appointed by the Republican governor as the state's top law enforcement officer in 1994, spoke in Albuquerque during a break in a meeting of the governor's beleaguered Drug Enforcement Advisory Council.

"This has been one of the most difficult times in my five years as secretary of the Department of Public Safety," White said.

Sandoval County Sheriff Ray Rivera, who chairs the advisory council, said police now "catch hell" from drug dealers who argue that their activity is condoned by the governor.

"The criminal element is very supportive of legalization and we catch hell from them" during drug arrests, Rivera said.

Rivera and White stressed that drug enforcement in New Mexico will remain aggressive, despite the governor's contention that the drug war is a failure.

"We will continue to enforce the drug laws even though we stand on opposite sides with the governor," Rivera said.

Three members of the governor's Drug Enforcement Advisory Council -- including representatives of the FBI and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration -- resigned in protest last week. They said Johnson's views are inconsistent with the council's mission.

The council on Tuesday agreed to ask the three ex-members to reconsider. If they refuse, the council will immediately seek replacements. The council administers about $4 million in federal drug enforcement money for New Mexico each year.

Over the past several months, Johnson has repeatedly called for a national debate on drug policy. He recently escalated his argument and expressed support for legalizing drugs such as marijuana and heroin. Johnson says legalization would allow money used for law enforcement to be spent on drug education and treatment programs. Drug use is a bad choice, but the choice should not carry criminal penalties, he has argued.

Johnson spokeswoman Diane Kinderwater said Johnson supports drug enforcement agents and believes legalizing drugs would make their jobs safer.

"The governor recognizes the dangers on the frontlines and he's looking for a future that takes the criminal element out of it," Kinderwater said.

Kinderwater said Johnson is committed to enforcing the laws, although he does not necessarily agree with them.

White traveled with Johnson to Washington last week to attend a national drug policy conference, but he said his attendance should not be construed as support of Johnson's position.

During an Oct. 5 keynote speech to the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, Johnson argued that legalizing drugs would decrease use, as well as negative effects of the illegal drug trade.

(Marijuananews note: Saying that Cato is "libertarian-leaning" is like saying that the Vatican is Catholic-leaning.")

"I want to know both sides of the argument," White said, defending his attendance at the conference. "I surely didn't go to be converted" to a pro-legalization stance.

White said he agrees with Johnson on at least one point: The drug war has failed. But he said legalization would not reverse the nation's drug problems.

"Legalization and decriminalization is not the answer or the solution to our drug problem," White said.

But White said law enforcement cannot win the drug war alone, and that more emphasis on education and treatment is needed.

"We are not going to arrest ourselves out of the problem," White said. "It's going to take a hell of a lot more than just us."

White said the timing of Johnson's late-September statements on legalizing drugs was terrible. The remarks came on the same day that state and federal drug agents arrested 31 suspected heroin dealers in Rio Arriba County, which is dealing with a serious heroin problem.

"With his statements he diminished the hard work of all of these investigators," White said.

Copyright: 1999 Albuquerque Journal