Do you know who Gary Johnson is? You should, because Gary Johnson, the two-term libertarian Republican governor of New Mexico, is one of the most dangerous politicians in the world.

Gov. Johnson wants the federal government to legalize drugs and then make money off people's misery.

Listen to what Gov. Johnson told college students in Washington, D.C., Monday.

"I hate to say it, but the majority of people who use drugs use them responsibly. They choose when to do it. They do them at home. It's not a financial burden."

"You're brought up learning that drugs make you crazy. 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."

"There are going to be new problems under legalization, but I submit to you they are going to be about half of what they are today under the prohibition model."

Gary Johnson says he used marijuana and cocaine in college. Gary Johnson believes that because he could "safely" use drugs, most people can. Gary Johnson is dead wrong.

The Associated Press says that Johnson supports legalization of drugs, but under strict control of sales and use, and with significant taxation. Under a legalization scheme, Johnson said, drugs such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine should not be available to anyone under 21; we would ban public drug use, and penalties for crimes such as driving under the influence would be increased. That, in a nutshell, is Gov. Johnson's frightening vision for America.

Let's look at Gov. Johnson's arguments one by one.

The governor says that the War on Drugs is a failure. He is wrong. Crime statistics show that drug use, drug-related murders and spending on illegal drugs have all gone down. It is true that the War on Drugs is hideously expensive. It is true that we now know that many more people use drugs than we thought in the past. Guess what? That's what happens when you shine a light into a cave. You see things hidden in the dark. However, exposing the dangers of drug use and arresting, prosecuting and jailing drug pushers is the price we must pay to save our society from this devil's plague.

Gov. Johnson thinks that if we legalize drugs, the drug lords will roll over and go away. Wrong again. The drug business is the most violent and profitable business in the world. What makes anyone think that the drug billionaires and their hatchlings will walk away from a "successful business" just because we have legalized it? Did the end of prohibition end mobster influence in the alcohol industry? Today, the mob is as deeply involved in the distribution and sale of liquor as it was at the end of Prohibition. There is no way that the drug lords will stop their evil work just because we have legalized drugs. In fact, it will "legitimize" them and turn our law enforcement community into enforcers for "legalized" drug pushers.

Gov. Johnson says marijuana is harmless. That's not what scientists have found. Marijuana is a gateway drug. Marijuana conditions your body for more serious drugs because marijuana affects the same part of the brain as heroin and cocaine. The difference is that marijuana-induced highs and withdrawals are more gradual. As a result, many marijuana users develop the misconception that if they can "handle" pot, they can handle other drugs. Did I mention that smoking marijuana has many of the same health impacts on your respiratory system as smoking tobacco?

Gov. Johnson wants to treat heroin, crank, ice, crack, LSD, roofies and a whole host of hard drugs like alcohol. Why would we ever want to do that? Crack, for example, is highly addictive. When an addict is high on crack, he or she can become extremely violent and will do anything to get more crack. Legalization doesn't change the body's chemistry. Someone addicted to "U.S. Government Certified Crack Cocaine" will be just as messed up as those addicted to illegal crack cocaine today. Because it is legal, every day they will see ads on television and in the press extolling the virtues of every drug under the sun. Does that vision of America excite you?

Isn't it ironic that as the federal government sues big tobacco for producing a dangerous product, a Republican governor calls for the legalization of cocaine? Isn't it ironic that most people who support the legalization of drugs want to ban guns? Isn't it ironic that most people who want to legalize drugs support the murder of babies and oppose the death penalty?

Gov. Johnson says that if we regulate the sale of hard drugs, people will use them responsibly. What planet does he come from? Do you want a pilot to use cocaine or LSD before flying? Do you want the government to set maximum blood content levels for crank, ice or crack, to decide what "driving under the influence" is? That's what we will have to have if Gov. Johnson gets his way. Do you want a school bus driver buying government-certified LSD? Do you want the government telling our children that drug use is OK? That's Gary Johnson's dream for America.

If you want to know what legalized drugs do to a community, look at the Swiss experiment in Zurich. In the early 1990s, the people of Zurich created "needle park" as a place where you could legally sell and use drugs. They thought this would control drug use and protect the rest of their fair city. They were wrong.

Addicts from all over Europe flooded into Zurich. Drug pushers from all over Europe flooded into Zurich. Quickly, needle park became a vomit-covered, needle-strewn wasteland. Violent crime rates soared near needle park. Surprise, surprise, the drug addicts and their pusher suppliers did not stay within the confines of needle park. Slowly but inexorably, needle park polluted more of Zurich.

Recently, they gave the people of Switzerland the opportunity to vote on the legalization of drugs for the entire country. After looking at the failed experiment at needle park, the Swiss rejected drug legalization overwhelmingly.

Finally, Gov. Johnson and his drug pushing supporters claim that drug use is a "victimless crime." Wrong again, governor. Wrong again.

Talk to the mother or father of a drug addict. You will be talking with some victims of drug addiction. Talk to the addict's wife or her husband and tell me that this is a victimless crime. Talk to their children, their friends, their employers or teachers. Talk to the people whom drug addicts have robbed or beaten. Talk to the police officers whom drug addicts shot. Talk to the paramedics whom drug addicts bit. If you are still in doubt, talk to the brave souls who have escaped from drug addiction. They all will tell you that Gov. Johnson has no idea what he is talking about.

The argument for legalization assumes that everyone knows what their tolerance level is. Let me tell you something. Virtually no one can take just a little bit of crack cocaine. If you take crack cocaine, it will take over your life. If you take crack cocaine, you will want ever more of it.

Do you really believe that a drug addict strung out on government-certified LSD will be any less abusive of the drug because we have legalized it? Do you really think that the "legal" drug pushers will tell folks to only buy and use a little bit of heroin? No my friends, if we legalize drugs, "legitimate" business people will spend billions getting as many new users addicted as possible. Want to know what a country looks like when we string it out on drugs? Go back to the Opium Wars and look at China.

What Gov. Johnson is really saying is that resisting temptation is hard. That is the only thing that he says that makes sense. Resisting temptation is hard. However, making hard choices is what life is about.

If we believe that personal responsibility is central to the survival of our great country, we cannot allow elected officials to push drugs on our children. If we believe that overcoming adversity is central to the American dream, we cannot allow elected officials to push drug use on our children. If we believe that saying no to temptation builds character and character matters, we cannot allow elected officials to turn America into a nation of drug addicts.

If Gov. Gary Johnson's nightmare vision for America deeply disturbs you, let him and your elected officials know how you feel. Gov. Johnson's e-mail address is: gov@gov.state.nm.us. Tell him to "Just Say No to Drugs!"

Start of with a little poisoning of the well, attempting to smear one who suggests that the law might be changed, as "dangerous". (Fallacy: attacking the person. see: http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/attack.htm)

Gov. Johnson wants the federal government to legalize drugs

In other words, return to adult Americans some of the same freedoms all Americans once shared. Scary concept to handle, for those who prefer authoritarian governments!

and then make money off people's misery.

Governor Johnson is suggesting that prohibition enhances misery more than drugs alone ever could. The good governor never suggested profiting from "misery."

Listen to what Gov. Johnson told college students in Washington, D.C., Monday. "I hate to say it, but the majority of people who use drugs use them responsibly. They choose when to do it. They do them at home. It's not a financial burden."

Right ... perhaps Johnson was thinking of this study:

7 In 10 Drug Users Work Full-Time
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n981/a13.html ,
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n985/a10.html ,
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n983/a01.html etc.

"a lie"? Maybe he was thinking about Barry McCaffrey, see

Drug Czar Lies Again About the Dutch
http://www.marijuananews.com/drug_czar_lies_about_the_dutch_a.htm

Is Truth a Casualty of the Drug War?
http://www.csdp.org/ads/pinocchio.htm , http://www.csdp.org/ads/ etc .

Many believe that the "drug problem" is made much worse by making drugs illegal in the first place.

Gary Johnson says he used marijuana and cocaine in college. Gary Johnson believes that because he could "safely" use drugs, most people can.

Sorry. Johnson never said anything like that.

The Associated Press says that Johnson supports legalization of drugs, but under strict control of sales and use, and with significant taxation. Under a legalization scheme, Johnson said, drugs such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine should not be available to anyone under 21; we would ban public drug use, and penalties for crimes such as driving under the influence would be increased.

Not locking up adults for using drugs is a most reasonable suggestion. Listening to prohibitionists like Doggett, you'd never learn that the current prohibitionist laws were not handed down from God. In America they are a product of the 20th century. Big, socialist government knows best; dare to disagree and you'll be thrown in jail.

That, in a nutshell, is Gov. Johnson's frightening vision for America.

More prejudicial language ("frightening vision"); no information given, however.

Let's look at Gov. Johnson's arguments one by one.

Shall we?

The governor says that the War on Drugs is a failure.

This is obvious to all but the most hard-core prohibitionists.

He is wrong. Crime statistics show that drug use, drug-related murders and spending on illegal drugs have all gone down.

And there is no evidence that the laws have anything to do with this, indeed, many argue that these things would have decreased regardless of drug policy, or would have decreased even more so. To assert that the a lowering of certain crime statistics were caused by prohibition is a fallacy.

see http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/posthoc.htm

It is true that the War on Drugs is hideously expensive.

The cost to our liberties is something that is not considered here, either.

It is true that we now know that many more people use drugs than we thought in the past. Guess what? That's what happens when you shine a light into a cave. You see things hidden in the dark.

"The dark" ... more prejudicial language. Using cannabis, a traditional remedy, was never considered evil until prohibitionists declared it so only this century in America. Many reject such a false and politically expedient morality.

However, exposing the dangers of drug use and arresting, prosecuting and jailing drug pushers is the price we must pay to save our society from this devil's plague.

Interesting how Doggett conflates merely "exposing the dangers of drug use" with "arresting, prosecuting and jailing drug pushers" ... implying that those adults who choose to use drugs that Americans were once free to take are not persecuted. Of course, this is not true: users are arrested, shot, beaten, jailed and have their property stolen by the government. Prohibitionists like Doggett are not so forthright in their descriptions of this government's vilification and persecution of drug users.

Gov. Johnson thinks that if we legalize drugs, the drug lords will roll over and go away.

Nobody "rolls over and goes away". (Doggett's descriptions of those with whom he disagrees are straw men). But now we have little "Al Capones" selling crack in every city in the nation, gunning down rival Al Capones for a street corner turf. Please note: that doesn't happen with alcohol. But it did when alcohol was prohibited.

Wrong again. The drug business is the most violent and profitable business in the world.

The alcohol business likewise became "violent and profitable" when it too was made illegal. Sometimes it takes a while to learn a lesson, though.

What makes anyone think that the drug billionaires and their hatchlings will walk away from a "successful business" just because we have legalized it?

Yes, because there will be no profit in it. Will the gangsters created and enriched by drog prohibition become choir boys when adult Americans once again have restored to them their traditional freedom to place whatever substances in their bodies they choose? I doubt that gangsters will become choir boys overnight. But they won't be enriched by obscene prohibition-caused profits then, either.

Did the end of prohibition end mobster influence in the alcohol industry?

It was greatly reduced when prohibition ended.

Today, the mob is as deeply involved in the distribution and sale of liquor as it was at the end of Prohibition.

"At the end of Prohibition"? If he means during prohibition, then he is incorrect. Any verifiable references that Doggett might have made to support his point might have been a big help to his argument.

There is no way that the drug lords will stop their evil work just because we have legalized drugs.

Just as bootleggers and moonshiners were undercut by the restoration of the legal liquor trade in post-prohibition America, so shall narcotrafficers once again be replaced by legitimate companies.

In fact, it will "legitimize" them and turn our law enforcement community into enforcers for "legalized" drug pushers.

Uh yeah ... just as the police are now "enforcers for 'legalized'" motorcycle "pushers".

Gov. Johnson says marijuana is harmless.

He never said that at all. I think Doggett just made this up: a straw man, cut from whole cloth, as it were.

http://www.marijuananews.com/is_marijuana_really_harmless.htm

That's not what scientists have found.

Depends on the "scientist" ... many "scientists" that are paid to exaggerate Reefer Madness attempt to do just that...

But when "scientists" find things about marijuana that politicos don't like, then the report is censored.

' ' Health officials in Geneva have suppressed the publication of a politically sensitive analysis that confirms cannabis is safer than alcohol or tobacco. ' '
What the WHO doesn't want you to know about cannabis
http://marijuana.newscientist.com/nsplus/insight/drugs/marijuana/news.html

' ' . . .Meanwhile, a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture assessing the potential of hemp growing has made the rounds of the federal government. The report's beige cover is stamped "Classified." ' '
BIRD FOOD IS A CASUALTY OF THE U.S. WAR ON DRUGS
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1077.a10.html

" ... because underage smoking and alcohol use typically precede marijuana use, marijuana is not the most common, and is rarely the first, "gateway" to illicit drug use. There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs."

[ Institute of Medicine Report, 3/99, This study was supported under contract No. DC7C02 from the Executive Office of the President, Office of the National Drug Control Policy. ] see http://www.drugsense.org/iom_report/ ,

Marijuana conditions your body for more serious drugs because marijuana affects the same part of the brain as heroin and cocaine.

"The same part" etc. Doggett is not very precise here, is he?

Table 2.5 Brain regions in which cannabinoid receptors are abundant^e

Brain Region	Functions Associated with Region
Brain regions in which cannabinoid receptors are abundant
Basal ganglia Substantia nigra pars reticulate Entopeduncular nucleus Globus pallidus Putamen	Movement control
Cerebellum	Body-movement coordination
Hippocampus	Learning and memory, stress
Cerebral cortex, especially cingulate, frontal, and parietal regions	Higher cognitive functions
Nucleus accumbens	Reward center
Brain regions in which cannabinoid brain receptors are moderately concentrated
Hypothalamus	Body housekeeping functions (body-temperature regulation, salt and water balance, reproductive function)
Amygdala	Emotional response, fear
Spinal cord	Peripheral sensation, including pain
Brain Stem	Sleep and arousal, temperature regulation, motor control
Central gray	Analgesia
Nucleus of the solitary tract	Visceral sensation, nausea and vomiting

^e Based on reviews by Pertwee1997 and Herkenham1995 This table will be accompanied by a figure.

I'm not so sure the exact same parts are involved, as Doggett claims.

The difference is that marijuana-induced highs and withdrawals are more gradual.

There are many differences between the stimulating effects of cocaine, and the hallucinogenic and analgesic effects of cannabis.

As a result, many marijuana users develop the misconception that if they can "handle" pot, they can handle other drugs.

Ironic Doggett should mention something like this. Many believe that when marijuana users learn their government was lying to them about marijuana, they assume that the government lies about other things, also.

Did I mention that smoking marijuana has many of the same health impacts on your respiratory system as smoking tobacco?

Inhaling smoke from a campfire likewise has "many of the same health impacts on your respiratory system as smoking tobacco".

Gov. Johnson wants to treat heroin, crank, ice, crack, LSD, roofies and a whole host of hard drugs like alcohol. Why would we ever want to do that?

He never did; Doggett is just handing us more misrepresentations. Here's what Johnson really said:

" He said marijuana is the best candidate to be legalized first, followed by more dangerous drugs such as heroin or cocaine, the other illegal drug Johnson has admitted having used.

Those dangerous drugs, Johnson said, should have even more restrictions on their sale and use than marijuana, such as perhaps requiring a doctor's prescription and being administered in a hospital or clinic.

``I don't want to see it in grocery stores,'' Johnson told reporters. ``I'm assuming that wouldn't happen. The more dangerous the perception of the drug, the more control there would be.'' "

[ N.M. Gov. Clarifies Drugs Position (Oct 5, 1999), http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1085.a11.html ]

You know what? I don't think Doggett had a concern in the world with even attempting to tell the truth about Governor Johnson's positions.

Crack, for example, is highly addictive. When an addict is high on crack, he or she can become extremely violent and will do anything to get more crack.

It intensifies the "fight or flight" response; the flip side of the intensification of the "fight" is that other people "can" become even more passive after taking stimulants ("flight"). Not pretty or healthy but Doggett as usual attempts to stack up only the sides of things that bolster prohibition. Things are not so simple.

Legalization doesn't change the body's chemistry. Someone addicted to "U.S. Government Certified Crack Cocaine" will be just as messed up as those addicted to illegal crack cocaine today.

Hardly: they will not be paranoid that a black-hooded and armed thugs will break in to shoot them and steal their house, car and anything else worth stealing (i.e. the friendly local police SWAT team). The price of US Gov't Certified Drugs would be low, the purity known. This would eliminate mush of the misery associated with the drugs that comes from prohibition, not from attributes of the drugs themselves. Using drugs is a poor practice. But when the government uses drugs as an excuse to oppress hapless subjects that is an abomination.

Because it is legal, every day they will see ads on television and in the press extolling the virtues of every drug under the sun.

Hardly: just as tobacco advertising is severely limited, there is every reason to believe that drugs will be treated similarly when the freedom to use them is restored to adult Americans.

Does that vision of America excite you?

What excites is the thought of an America that has a free and independent press, and honest, probing journalists. I'm afraid Mr. Doggett leaves many cold in that regard.

Isn't it ironic that as the federal government sues big tobacco for producing a dangerous product, a Republican governor calls for the legalization of cocaine?

What linkage does the federal policy have with the freely expressed opinions of a state governor?

Isn't it ironic that most people who support the legalization of drugs want to ban guns? Isn't it ironic that most people who want to legalize drugs support the murder of babies and oppose the death penalty?

Really? I suppose that we must take Doggett's good word for these ironclad correlations, as we take his word for all his other assertions in this charming piece.

Gov. Johnson says that if we regulate the sale of hard drugs, people will use them responsibly.

Again, a misrepresentation (straw man) of what Johnson actually said, but we've come to expect this from Doggett.

What planet does he come from?

More insult from Doggett. But insult doth not a reason make.

Do you want a pilot to use cocaine or LSD before flying?

Not any more so than I would want a pilot to be drunk, hungover, or just upset from an argument with is wife.

Do you want the government to set maximum blood content levels for crank, ice or crack, to decide what "driving under the influence" is? That's what we will have to have if Gov. Johnson gets his way.

In other words, Doggett suggests that we simply lock everyone up who has any blood content level? Is that fair? How does the punishment fit the crime in Doggett's dream world? It doesn't.

Do you want a school bus driver buying government-certified LSD?

More inflammatory absurdities: Johnson never suggested that bus drivers take LSD any more than he suggested that they drink and drive. Let's repeat what Johnson really did say:

" Those dangerous drugs, Johnson said, should have even more restrictions on their sale and use than marijuana, such as perhaps requiring a doctor's prescription and being administered in a hospital or clinic.

``I don't want to see it in grocery stores,'' Johnson told reporters. ``I'm assuming that wouldn't happen. The more dangerous the perception of the drug, the more control there would be.'' " [N.M. Gov. Clarifies Drugs Position , http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1085.a11.html ]

Do you want the government telling our children that drug use is OK?

Governor Johnson is suggesting that drug use is bad, but that we shouldn't jail adults for simply using drugs. He never said that "drug use is OK" or remotely said that the government should condone anything.

That's Gary Johnson's dream for America.

Hardly; it looks like we were just treated to another John Doggett Straw Man Special!

If you want to know what legalized drugs do to a community, look at the Swiss experiment in Zurich. In the early 1990s, the people of Zurich created "needle park" as a place where you could legally sell and use drugs. They thought this would control drug use and protect the rest of their fair city. They were wrong. Addicts from all over Europe flooded into Zurich. Drug pushers from all over Europe flooded into Zurich. Quickly, needle park became a vomit-covered, needle-strewn wasteland. Violent crime rates soared near needle park. Surprise, surprise, the drug addicts and their pusher suppliers did not stay within the confines of needle park. Slowly but inexorably, needle park polluted more of Zurich.

Please note: heroin addicts in Switzerland are given that drug by their government...

'' Swiss police records reveal a reduction close to 70 per cent in crime by those on the heroin-prescription program of that country, and that this reduction can be expected in just six months. ''
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n796/a11.html

'' Dr Wodak is convinced of the merits of the Swiss project. Between 1992 and 1998, annual deaths from overdose have fallen in that country from 419 to 209. They have doubled in Australia over the same period. ''
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n774/a01.html etc.

Recently, they gave the people of Switzerland the opportunity to vote on the legalization of drugs for the entire country. After looking at the failed experiment at needle park, the Swiss rejected drug legalization overwhelmingly.

'' SWITZERLAND CONTINUES TO HAND OUT HEROIN TO ADDICTS

BERN. Switzerland's legal prescription programme involving handing out heroin to addicts is being made permanent this weekend. This Thursday the upper chamber in Bern voted yes to the proposal, 30 for and 4 against.

So far the prescription of legal heroin, morphine and methadone to about 800 drug abusers has been carried out on an experimental basis. Now it is estimated that the number of drug abusers who will have legal access to the drugs will increase to at least 2000. Many of them have failed with other treatment programmes.

The experimental prescription programme has been going on since 1994, and a study after 3 years concluded that the project radically decreased criminality, suffering and mortality among the participating drug abusers. In a referendum in September last year 71% of the Swiss people said yes to a more liberal approach to narcotics. '' http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98/n907/a01.html Oct, 1998

Finally, Gov. Johnson and his drug pushing supporters claim that drug use is a "victimless crime." Wrong again, governor. Wrong again.

Right again, Right again. Using drugs harms the individual who uses them, not others.

Talk to the mother or father of a drug addict. You will be talking with some victims of drug addiction. Talk to the addict's wife or her husband and tell me that this is a victimless crime. Talk to their children, their friends, their employers or teachers. Talk to the people whom drug addicts have robbed or beaten. Talk to the police officers whom drug addicts shot. Talk to the paramedics whom drug addicts bit. If you are still in doubt, talk to the brave souls who have escaped from drug addiction.

By Doggett's convenient criteria, anything anyone else does not like, makes that person a "victim". And here again, Doggett wants us to forget that prohibition itself raises the prices of drugs, thereby causing crime. And makes turf battles possible, as alcohol Prohibition made Al Capone's turf battles possible.

They all will tell you that Gov. Johnson has no idea what he is talking about.

Another emotive misstatement.

see

• "When Cops Become the Gangsters" by Joseph D. McNamara, Retired Police Chief of San Jose http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1033/a04.html etc.

• Cops Against The Drug War
  http://www.drcnet.org/cops/

Another straw man. Governor Johnson never made this argument.

Let me tell you something.

Sure, but we'll want to check what you say. And very carefully, given the rest of this piece.

Virtually no one can take just a little bit of crack cocaine. If you take crack cocaine, it will take over your life. If you take crack cocaine, you will want ever more of it.

' ' But if crack is "instantly addictive," then everybody who tried it once would be in trouble, and that is far from the truth. Among high school seniors in 1987 (the first year they were asked about cocaine), 4.1 percent had used crack in the past year. Less than a third of those had used it in the past month, and a fortieth of those who had tried it were using it every day. (The proportions have remained the about the same since then as overall crack use has declined.) The numbers actually indicate that nicotine is more reinforcing than crack. . . .' '
( Smoke and Mirrors, p.220, Dan Baum, 1996 )

People stop using crack cocaine every day. They stop, they don't use it again, and miss it not.

Do you really believe that a drug addict strung out on government-certified LSD will be any less abusive of the drug because we have legalized it?

"Strung out" means "addicted". (Unless Doggett is equivocating here again.) Yet LSD is not addictive. Again, Doggett needs to get his facts straight.

Do you really think that the "legal" drug pushers will tell folks to only buy and use a little bit of heroin?

Last time I visited my state's Alcohol Beverage Control stores, the "pushers" there did not try to sell me anything. I purchased Contreau; nobody even hinted that I should pick up some Grand Marnier as well!

No my friends, if we legalize drugs, "legitimate" business people will spend billions getting as many new users addicted as possible.

I seriously doubt that. Just as tobacco advertising is restricted, so ads for drugs like cannabis will be even more restricted.

Want to know what a country looks like when we string it out on drugs? Go back to the Opium Wars and look at China.

Since he knows we can't go back, I suppose Doggett wants us to take his word? Why doesn't he suggest that we examine a (formerly) free nation like America prior to the Harrison Narcotic Act? Perhaps because he would find that a smaller percentage of people used hard drugs even when they were available over the counter, than use now?

What Gov. Johnson is really saying is that resisting temptation is hard.

No, but this is an (almost) clever literary flourish that Doggett makes here ... Johnson never addressed the moral and religious issue of "temptation".

That is the only thing that he says that makes sense.

I would say that Doggett likes to fabricate the words that Doggett would like for others to say, but that would be an understatement.

Resisting temptation is hard. However, making hard choices is what life is about.

Telling the truth about difficult subjects, telling the Emperor that he has no clothes is hard too. It is a shame that Doggett is unable to rise to the occasion.

If we believe that personal responsibility is central to the survival of our great country,

I'm not sure I want Doggett's idea of "personal responsibility" to be the basis for throwing adult Americans in jail, for using a plant that all Americans were free to use until 1937.

we cannot allow elected officials to push drugs on our children.

Suggesting that adults not be thrown in jail for using drugs is not the same as to "push drugs on our children."

If we believe that overcoming adversity is central to the American dream,

Glittering generalities; platitudes.

we cannot allow elected officials to push drug use on our children.

Decrying that adults are thrown in jail for using drugs is very different from "push[ing] drugs on our children." Again, Doggett plays fast and loose with the truth.

If we believe that saying no to temptation builds character and character matters, we cannot allow elected officials to turn America into a nation of drug addicts.

Not throwing adults in jail for using drugs is no more "turn[ing] America into a nation of drug addicts", than not jailing boozers is `turning America into a nation of alcoholics.'

If Gov. Gary Johnson's nightmare vision for America deeply disturbs you, let him and your elected officials know how you feel. Gov. Johnson's e-mail address is: gov@gov.state.nm.us . Tell him to "Just Say No to Drugs!"

And if you think Governor Johnson is correct, likewise write him a note of support ... gov@gov.state.nm.us

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