cannabisnews.com: 'Puff Daddy' Gary Johnson Clears the Air on Drugs





'Puff Daddy' Gary Johnson Clears the Air on Drugs
Posted by CN Staff on April 16, 2004 at 09:46:04 PT
By Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff 
Source: NewsMax.com
The answer to the question "Did you inhale?" will definitely be yes if New Mexico’s former Republican governor Gary Johnson runs for president in 2008, as he indicates in the Albuquerque Journal today.Nicknamed "Puff Daddy" after he was interviewed on numerous programs such as "60 Minutes" and "Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher," and in magazines such as Playboy, Johnson became famous for his stance on legalization of drugs.
The two-term governor simply doesn’t believe in spending millions on incarcerating people for using drugs. The Journal says, "Johnson's vision is to run on the drug issue much like Eugene McCarthy ran on the Vietnam issue against Lyndon B. Johnson — not to win, but to force the issue into the debate."The Libertarian Party invited Johnson to run for president in this election, based largely on his drug position, but he declined and says he’ll vote for Bush this year. The 51-year-old, who is more libertarian than conservative, is looking more the part. His once-shorn head has grown the long locks of a stereotypical Taos hippie. Johnson laughs: "You're going to show these pictures in the paper, and there’s gong to be a letter to the editor: 'I knew that guy smoked pot. I just knew it.'"But looks can be deceiving. Johnson, a physical fitness fanatic and Iron Man competitor, long ago gave up the fondness for marijuana he once happily indulged. He says he hasn’t smoked pot since two years before he ran for governor and doesn’t even drink coffee now. He's more into the white powder these days.Since handing over New Mexico to Democrat Gov. Bill Richardson in 2003 and then summiting Mount Everest, Johnson is spending his days on the ski slopes of Taos – and contemplating how to turn the drug war issue into a bigger national debate.He would like to run in an open Republican primary in 2008 or 2012 with legalization of drugs as the core of his campaign.Though numerous legalization bills were introduced, albeit unsuccessfully, in his final term, his governorship otherwise reads as if it came straight out of the conservative Republican playbook. He vetoed so many spending bills that he became known to the Democrat majority in the Legislature and around the state as "Governor No."But when his term was up, New Mexico, one of the poorest states in the country, was one of four states still in the black. And the Clintonoid Richardson, who has duped even some conservative radio and TV talk show hosts into believing he’s a tax-cutting fiscal conservative, has since used the budget surplus he inherited to triple his office's budget and add dozens to his staff – including a personal stylist, a high-priced Washington, D.C., lobbyist, and a full-time chef for the Governor’s Mansion.The Associated Press has also reported on the "slush fund" used to pay for Starbucks coffee and Altoids mints for the governor's numerous staff members."The basic difference between Bill and I is I left office with a $1.5 million [governor's office] budget, and his budget now is $4.2 million. And I had control of over 400 exempt positions, and of those I may have hired 40, and those 40 then hired the balance of the 400. Richardson has hired every single one of those people. You can't run an effective business or organization like that. ..." High on an opportunity to use the national spotlight to spur reform of drug laws, Johnson asks, "Is there a bigger issue facing us today that is so fixable?" It's Not an 'Experiment' Incidentally, do you feel like retching when people say they "experimented" with drugs, as if they were scientists in lab coats conducting research? If so, then Johnson is a refreshing puff of candor.Here's a quote from an interview with National Review in November 1999:"In running for office during my first term, I offered up the fact that I smoked marijuana. And the media was very quick to say, 'Oh, so you experimented with marijuana.' No, I smoked marijuana. This is something that I did. I did it along with a lot of other people. But me and my buddies, you know ... we enjoyed what we were doing." Source: NewsMax.comAuthor: Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff Published: Friday, April 16, 2004Copyright: 2004 NewsMax.comWebsite: http://www.newsmax.com/Contact: http://www.newsmax.com/comments.shtmlRelated Articles:Gary Johnson May Not Be Done With Politicshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18655.shtmlAdvocates Gear Up for Drug-Reform Pushhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11690.shtmlGary Johnson's Visit to the Drug Policy Forumhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11555.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #8 posted by E_Johnson on April 17, 2004 at 10:25:13 PT
Correction
I was all down on Tommy Chong for being a typical self centered celebrity by claiming that his prosecution was all about "who he used to be".Forgetting of course that it could possibly be about anyone else like the 700,000 people who are not Tommy Chong who get arrested every year.The government didn't force him to believe the world revolves around HIM.And if Gary Johnson is voting FOR Bush, then he's voting FOR the Drug War to get worse.That's a funny thing to vote FOR, don't you think?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by maufred on April 17, 2004 at 07:38:41 PT:
E.J.
Stop and think before you get so down on this guy. I remember a few months ago when some of you were really down on Tommy for not fighting, then it came out that the PIGS threatened his family.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by jose melendez on April 16, 2004 at 21:12:51 PT
whatever
Again, were it not for certain other events, the BIGGEST NEWS OF THE DAY on September 11, 2001 would have been Asa Hutchinson's loss to Gary Johnson in a marijuana legalization debate that was held the day before.Nobody asked, just my opinion. Bush uses the terror war to justify more drug war, which was the #1 reason I noticed before the 9-11 commision as to why resources were not available for counter terrorism. Both Republicans and Democrats seem drunk with power. As a registered dem with libertarian leanings, I figure my best bet to fight this is to use existing law to prove drug war illegal, even if I have to run for office myself.It seems to be working.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by AlvinCool on April 16, 2004 at 18:42:50 PT
Really now
GeezeHmnn... you are down on Johnson because he says he's going to vote for Bush? He has to carry the Republican nomination, and that is only acomplished by being mainstream in the Republican party. By being totally against prohibition he's about as out of the mainstream as possible on that issue. He must stay in the Republican mainstream on almost everything else to get the nomination for the Republican party. Saying he will vote for Bush is all he can do, and what he should do. But you gotta wonder what will happen when he marks his actual voting card.Also keep in mind he's the only figure in the news, with a spotless governors record, that supports even a slight change in our current system. He wants to tear that down as much as he can with presidential powers, something that no other person in politics would, or could, do. You guys are harsh
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on April 16, 2004 at 10:26:37 PT
He is going to vote for Bush?
Another vote wasted on George Bush.Better dead than Republican.Somebody whoop these 'Republicans' upside the head.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on April 16, 2004 at 10:00:11 PT
He's walking over emotional landmines
The way Bush has put the hurt on this community -- Johnson is rubbing salt into the wounds.We'd be better off now if he used his 15 minutes to challenge the press to make drug policy an issue in this election.But this is not about us for him, it's about him for him. He doesn't want to stir shit in this election because it won't promote his own political future, that's why he used his moment in the spotlight to talk about his own plans rather than trying to intervene in the current disaster.That does it for me.BYE GARY!!!! DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON YOUR WAY BACK TO OBSCURITY.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by BigDawg on April 16, 2004 at 09:53:18 PT
The reason he will vote for Bush is obvious.
We wants to run for president under the Republican wing.He has to at least claim he will vote repub if he expects a shot at the ticket.More political BS.......
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on April 16, 2004 at 09:50:44 PT
He's climbed out on a really thin limb now
"The Libertarian Party invited Johnson to run for president in this election, based largely on his drug position, but he declined and says he?ll vote for Bush this year.
"Dude, you vote for Bush now, and you can forget ever getting my vote for any reason, ever. And that's a sworn sacred promise.If this is a trial balloon, I hope someone sticks a pin in it quickly.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment