New Mexico governor seeks drug legalization policy
By Matt Kelley
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Drug use
would remain steady or decline
and crime would be slashed if
drugs were legalized, New Mexi
co Gov. Gary Johnson said today
as he kicked off a tour of the na
tion’s capital.
Johnson, a Republican, told
about a dozen college students
that while he believes drugs are
“a bad choice” and “a handi
cap,” current federal anti-drug
polices are a failure.
“I hate to say it, but the majori
ty of people who use drugs use
them responsibly,” Johnson told
members of Students for a Sensi
ble Drug Policy at George Wash
ington University. ‘‘They choose
when to do it. They do them at
home. It’s not a financial bur
den.”
White House drug policy di
rector Barry McCaffrey and other
officials excoriated Johnson last
week after he became the first
governor to support drug legal
ization.
“His pro-drug message runs in
the face of all the hard work of
millions of parents, teachers,
health professionals, community
leaders, coaches and clergy who
are working so hard to stem drug
use,” McCaffrey said Friday.
Johnson found a friendlier au
dience in the students.
“Students are experts on drug
use,” said Kris Lotlikar, a leader
of the group. “We’re the children
that this war was supposed to
protect. But I have yet to talk to
any student who came from a
drug-free high school. To me,
that’s a failed policy.”
As the students sipped bottled
water, Johnson told them of his
drug use as a young man and his
decision years ago to forego not
only drugs but alcohol and even
Coca-Cola in favor of training for
triathlons.
“I was somebody who smoked
marijuana in college. I didn’t ex
periment with marijuana, I
smoked it,” Johnson said. “I
made a bad choice, but even
then, it wasn’t a choice that I felt
should have landed me in jail.”
Johnson said he supports legal
ized drugs with strict taxes and
control on their sales and use.
Under a legalization scheme,
Johnson said, drugs such as mari
juana, heroin and cocaine should
not be available to anyone under
21, public drug use should be
banned and penalties enhanced
for crimes such as driving under
the influence.
Current drug policy focuses
too heavily on throwing people
in jail, while allowing illegal
drug cartels to rake in billions of
dollars, Johnson said. And cur
rent anti-drug education efforts
such as the well-known “This is
your brain on drugs” advertise
ments amount to lies, he said.
“You’re brought up learning
that drugs make you crazy,”
Johnson said. “Then you do mar
ijuana 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.”
Darren White, who as head of
New Mexico’s Department of
Public Safety oversees the state
police, told the students he was
not willing to support drug legal
ization but agreed with Johnson
that current anti-drug efforts are
misguided.
‘‘We aren’t rung the drug
war. I can tell you because I’m
fighting on the front lines every
day,” White said. “I call it a skir
mish, because that’s the kind of
resources I’m getting to fight it....
As a nation, we’re not willing to
give up the civil liberties neces
sary to win the drug war.”
Driftertells jurors he deserves death penalty for slaying boy
By Ben Fox
The Associated Press
VISTA, Calif. — A Wisconsin
drifter who murdered a third
grade boy in a beach restroom told
jurors Monday he would kill again
in a minute, he is out to destroy so
ciety and he should be executed.
“My whole purpose in life is to
help destroy your society,” Bran
don H. Wilson told the San Diego
County Superior Court jury. “You
people are here as representatives
of that society and as such you
should do everything in your
power to rid the world of me. ’ ’
The 21-year old drifter spoke to
jurors against the advice of his
lawyer as the penalty phase of his
Patch Adams disrobes
for disarmament
SAN FRANCISCO — Patch
Adams didn’t wear a patch — or
anything else — during an anti
nuclear protest in which about 50
people marched naked down a
busy downtown street.
The ponytailed Adams, who
inspired the Robin Williams
movie based on his use of humor
in treating patients, paraded in
chilly weather Sunday as his fel
low protesters whooped and
chanted “Disrobe for disarma
ment” and “Nudes, not nukes.”
. Nonviolent people “really have
so few tools to face a capitalist
system,” Adams told the crowd
as they disrobed. “All we really
have are ourselves and our ideas.
Our ideas have not done the job.”
The protesters included Carol
Brouillet, 42, of Palo Alto.
“I’m glad my husband’s not
here,” she said. “He wouldn’t do
this, but we have different world
views.”
Calendar
Oct 5 Tuesday
The Multicultural Center will
hold an open house at 5 p.m. to
day. The event offers the chance
to meet the center’s staff members
and learn about the resources it
offers. It is free and open to the
community. The center is located
in EMU Room 33. For more infor
mation, call the center at 346
4207.
The Lane Memorial Blood
Bank is holding a blood drive
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and
Wednesday in the EMU Fir
Room. Donors should eat a com
plete meal with protein at least
two hours before donating blood.
iff Where oh where has
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trial got under way.
Matthew Cecchi was killed on
Nov. 14,1998, during a family re
union at Oceanside Harbor.
Wilson admitted he crept up be
hind the Oroville boy in the re
stroom, slashed his throat and
stabbed him five times in the back.
But he claimed he was insane at
the time, which meant he could
n’t be held liable for the crime un
der California law.
Jurors rejected that argument
last week after deliberating less
than six hours, opening the way
for the penalty phase. Jurors can
recommend death or life in prison
without the possibility of parole.
Wilson, from St. Croix Falls,
Wis., said he should die.
In a calm, deliberate voice, Wil
son said he felt no remorse what
soever for killing Matthew.
“I would do it again in a second
if I had the chance,” he said as the
boy’s mother, Sharon Cecchi,
gasped from her front-row court
room seat.
“Execute me,” Wilson conclud
ed.
His statement came after more
than two hours of prosecution tes
timony that included tearful rec
ollections of Matthew by his
mother, an uncle and the boy’s
third-grade teacher.
Two jurors cried as the teacher,
Deborah Peck of Oroville’s Stan
ford Avenue School, described
how she tried to explain the boy’s
murder to his classmates.
“Third-graders always ask why
and that was a question I had no
answer for,” said Peck, who called
Matthew a straight-A student and
an extraordinary little boy.
Jurors heard for the first time the
911 tape of Matthew’s uncle, Mark
Gerhard, calling for help on a cell
phone in the restroom where the
boy was attacked.
“It wasn’t real. ... It was like a
bomb went off,” Gerhard said of the
moments after the boy was found.
Matthew’s mother described
her son’s life, filling in details
missing from the trial that has fo
cused exclusively on Wilson and
his sanity. She said Matthew
wanted to be an engineer, car
toonist or architect when he grew
up, liked to play baseball and to
ride his bike. He wrote stories
about aliens.
“He was everything to us,” she
said.
Prosecutor David Rubin told
jurors he hoped the testimony of
the boy’s family and teacher
would persuade them to recom
mend the ultimate penalty.
“You are going to have a fuller
picture to analyze what punish
ment should fit this crime,” Ru
bin said during his opening state
ment.
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