T
The420Guy
Guest
Looking visibly pained from his recent back injury, Gov. Gary Johnson on
Monday took his case for drug-law reform to another national media outlet -
ABC's Nightline.
The show, which was broadcast late Monday night, focused on the heroin
problem in Rio Arriba County and the use of the medication called Naloxone
or Narcan to save the lives of people in the throes of a heroin overdose.
Monday's Nightline began with a lengthy segment on Rio Arriba County's
heroin problem, focusing on a new program of the New Mexico State Health
Department to distribute Narcan directly to heroin addicts. In this
program, doctors prescribe Narcan to heroin addicts.
Among those interviewed in the segment were state Health Secretary Alex
Valdez, Espanola Police Chief Wayne Salazar and Dr. Murray Ryan of Espanola.
Johnson's segment was videotaped Monday afternoon.
"There are a number of issues associated with Narcan and the administrating
of it," Johnson told Ted Koppel, who conducted the interview from
Washington, D.C. "What we want to do is reduce liability so foremost the
person dying from an overdose might actually get their lives saved by
having Narcan administered."
Freeing police from liability for treating an overdose case with Narcan is
the focus of one of eight drug-reform bills Johnson has drafted for the
current session of the state Legislature.
Early this year, Johnson directed the state Health Department to speed up
its Naloxone distribution program.
Johnson said instead of having police who arrive at the scene of an
overdose thinking, "Who are we going to arrest because there's heroin on
the scene?" they should first be trying to save the life of the overdose
victim.
"We all want to save lives, that is the bottom line here," the governor said.
Besides the Narcan topic, during the interview Johnson expounded upon his
general philosophy of drug reform.
"If you're smoking marijuana in the confines of your own home doing no harm
to anybody arguably other than yourself, do you belong in jail for doing
that?" he said. "I do not believe you belong in jail for doing that.
"Now let's draw a line here," Johnson continued. "If you smoke marijuana
and you do harm to somebody else, you smoke marijuana and you get into a
car and drive, that's going to be illegal. It's always going to be illegal
for kids to do drugs or to sell drugs to kids, similar to alcohol."
Using language similar to his recent interview in Playboy magazine, Johnson
downplayed the intense criticism he has received from members of both major
political parties for his stance on drugs.
"First one over the hill is gonna take a lot of heat and that was not
unexpected," he said.
After the taping, Johnson gave a thumbs-up to the recent movie Traffic.
Starring Michael Douglas, the movie is about a judge appointed by the
president to spearhead the war against drugs - only to discover that his
own daughter is addicted to heroin.
"I suggest you go see it," the governor told reporters. "I don't think they
draw any conclusions yea or nay. I just think that they raise points that
everyone in the country right now are asking themselves."
One of Johnson's drug-reform bills, one that would make marijuana use legal
to use for certain medical purposes, is expected to be introduced Wednesday
in both houses of the legislature.
Rep. Joe Thompson, R-Albuquerque, is introducing a bill in the state House
of Representatives, while Sens. Roman Maes, D-Santa Fe, and Cisco McSorley,
D-Albuquerque, will carry it in the Senate.
Other bills include measures to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana
and to make first- and second-time drug possession charges misdemeanors
with mandatory treatment instead of jail time.
Asked when other bills in the drug package might be introduced, Johnson
said, "You know, we've really left the strategy on this to Toney Anaya and
Mickey Barnett."
Former Gov. Anaya, a Democrat, and former state Sen. Barnett, a Republican,
were hired by the Lindesmith Center - a New York-based think tank dedicated
to drug-law reform - as lobbyists for Johnson's drug-reform package.
Except for a few short visits, Johnson has been absent from the Capitol
since his Jan. 17 jogging accident, in which he slipped on a patch of ice,
fell and fractured two vertebrae.
Although the expression on his face indicated he was in physical pain, the
governor maintained a sense of humor. As television cameras rolled, Johnson
joked with reporters not to tell his wife that he had taken off his back
brace for the Nightline videotaping.
Newshawk: Cannabis News - marijuana, hemp, and cannabis news
Pubdate: Tue, 30 Jan 2001
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Copyright: 2001 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com
Address: 202 E Marcy, Santa Fe, N.M. 87501
Fax: (505) 986-3040
Feedback: https://www.sfnewmexican.com/letterstoeditor/submitform.las
Website: santafenewmexican.com | News, opinion and sports from Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico
Bookmark: MapInc (Johnson, Gary)
Monday took his case for drug-law reform to another national media outlet -
ABC's Nightline.
The show, which was broadcast late Monday night, focused on the heroin
problem in Rio Arriba County and the use of the medication called Naloxone
or Narcan to save the lives of people in the throes of a heroin overdose.
Monday's Nightline began with a lengthy segment on Rio Arriba County's
heroin problem, focusing on a new program of the New Mexico State Health
Department to distribute Narcan directly to heroin addicts. In this
program, doctors prescribe Narcan to heroin addicts.
Among those interviewed in the segment were state Health Secretary Alex
Valdez, Espanola Police Chief Wayne Salazar and Dr. Murray Ryan of Espanola.
Johnson's segment was videotaped Monday afternoon.
"There are a number of issues associated with Narcan and the administrating
of it," Johnson told Ted Koppel, who conducted the interview from
Washington, D.C. "What we want to do is reduce liability so foremost the
person dying from an overdose might actually get their lives saved by
having Narcan administered."
Freeing police from liability for treating an overdose case with Narcan is
the focus of one of eight drug-reform bills Johnson has drafted for the
current session of the state Legislature.
Early this year, Johnson directed the state Health Department to speed up
its Naloxone distribution program.
Johnson said instead of having police who arrive at the scene of an
overdose thinking, "Who are we going to arrest because there's heroin on
the scene?" they should first be trying to save the life of the overdose
victim.
"We all want to save lives, that is the bottom line here," the governor said.
Besides the Narcan topic, during the interview Johnson expounded upon his
general philosophy of drug reform.
"If you're smoking marijuana in the confines of your own home doing no harm
to anybody arguably other than yourself, do you belong in jail for doing
that?" he said. "I do not believe you belong in jail for doing that.
"Now let's draw a line here," Johnson continued. "If you smoke marijuana
and you do harm to somebody else, you smoke marijuana and you get into a
car and drive, that's going to be illegal. It's always going to be illegal
for kids to do drugs or to sell drugs to kids, similar to alcohol."
Using language similar to his recent interview in Playboy magazine, Johnson
downplayed the intense criticism he has received from members of both major
political parties for his stance on drugs.
"First one over the hill is gonna take a lot of heat and that was not
unexpected," he said.
After the taping, Johnson gave a thumbs-up to the recent movie Traffic.
Starring Michael Douglas, the movie is about a judge appointed by the
president to spearhead the war against drugs - only to discover that his
own daughter is addicted to heroin.
"I suggest you go see it," the governor told reporters. "I don't think they
draw any conclusions yea or nay. I just think that they raise points that
everyone in the country right now are asking themselves."
One of Johnson's drug-reform bills, one that would make marijuana use legal
to use for certain medical purposes, is expected to be introduced Wednesday
in both houses of the legislature.
Rep. Joe Thompson, R-Albuquerque, is introducing a bill in the state House
of Representatives, while Sens. Roman Maes, D-Santa Fe, and Cisco McSorley,
D-Albuquerque, will carry it in the Senate.
Other bills include measures to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana
and to make first- and second-time drug possession charges misdemeanors
with mandatory treatment instead of jail time.
Asked when other bills in the drug package might be introduced, Johnson
said, "You know, we've really left the strategy on this to Toney Anaya and
Mickey Barnett."
Former Gov. Anaya, a Democrat, and former state Sen. Barnett, a Republican,
were hired by the Lindesmith Center - a New York-based think tank dedicated
to drug-law reform - as lobbyists for Johnson's drug-reform package.
Except for a few short visits, Johnson has been absent from the Capitol
since his Jan. 17 jogging accident, in which he slipped on a patch of ice,
fell and fractured two vertebrae.
Although the expression on his face indicated he was in physical pain, the
governor maintained a sense of humor. As television cameras rolled, Johnson
joked with reporters not to tell his wife that he had taken off his back
brace for the Nightline videotaping.
Newshawk: Cannabis News - marijuana, hemp, and cannabis news
Pubdate: Tue, 30 Jan 2001
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Copyright: 2001 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com
Address: 202 E Marcy, Santa Fe, N.M. 87501
Fax: (505) 986-3040
Feedback: https://www.sfnewmexican.com/letterstoeditor/submitform.las
Website: santafenewmexican.com | News, opinion and sports from Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico
Bookmark: MapInc (Johnson, Gary)