Don’t legalize drugs

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: [email protected]. Tell him to “Just Say No to Drugs!”