Gary Johnson Addresses Students at Fordham

Gary Johnson, former Republican governor of New Mexico, gave a lecture sponsored by the Young Americans for Liberty on Nov. 4 about his political history and philosophy.  Gov. Johnson addressed the students in attendance on matters of fiscal responsibility, small government and political reforms.

Marijuana legalization, arguably Johnson's hallmark political platform, was advertised as being a main point of the lecture, and Johnson subsequently devoted a substantial portion of his address to it.

"Ninety percent of the problem is prohibition related," he said, noting that some 60 percent, of Americans in prison are serving sentences related to drug possession. He placed particular emphasis on sentences related to marijuana, arguing that the legal response it elicits is out of proportion with the dangers it poses to users.

"I do not smoke marijuana and I do not drink alcohol," he said. "But I have smoked marijuana and I have drunk alcohol, and I can say that alcohol is definitely more dangerous."

According to Johnson, legalizing and taxing marijuana will also have effects on the United States' international relations.

"[You] legalize marijuana and 75 percent of border crime goes away," he said, referring to the trafficking of the drug across the United States-Mexico border, which has seen major increases in violence over the past several years.

Johnson also cited drug policies in foreign countries as evidence in favor of marijuana legalization. In particular, he discussed Netherlands, where despite marijuana's decriminalized status, drug use per capita is 60 percent of what it is in the United States, and Portugal, which has seen a decrease in use of hard drugs, such as heroin, since they were decriminalized.

Johnson said that he disagrees with the current arrangement those states with medical marijuana use, namely dedicated dispensaries for the drug.

"If it were me making that decision, you would just show a card and then would be able to purchase it," he said. Johnson also said that he does not understand why anyone would be opposed to medical marijuana, calling such stances "cruel."

Johnson subsequently spoke about shrinking government in the United States.

"Republicans grew government just like Democrats grew government," he said, addressing what he viewed as the flawed notion that Republicans inherently spend less money than their counterparts on the other side of the aisle. In particular, he criticized defense spending on the part of the George W. Bush administration.

Speaking of the conflicts in which the United States is currently engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, Johnson expressed his belief that they are poor uses of American money, time and effort.

"We do not need to be building roads and airports in Afghanistan," he said. "Especially when our own infrastructure is in such bad shape, we should not be doing this."

Additionally, he said that, if it were his decision, he would pull the United States out of these armed conflicts as soon as feasible.

"For me, it would be a matter of months, not years," he said.

In response to a student who questioned the wisdom of leaving these countries in fragile political, social and economic states, Johnson responded that he believed that, no matter when the United States removed its armed forces, these issues would exist.

"That will be the case if we pull out tomorrow or another 10 years from now," he said.

Johnson is notable for vetoing some 750 bills during his eight years as New Mexico's governor, more than every other governor in the country combined during that same time period.

"The test that I used was ‘How will this law affect me?' If it did not, if it was aimed at some corporation or special interest, or if it was just unnecessary, I vetoed it," he said, noting in particular a bill that would have required pet stores give their cats and dogs a specific amount of exercise on a weekly basis. Another, which would have required that all high school pole-vaulters use a helmet, struck Johnson, a former pole-vaulter himself, as a ridiculous notion.

On the matter of free markets and education, Johnson said that he supports the use of school vouchers, including when applicable to private and religious institutions, as beneficial for American education.

"I really believe in free markets, and either you believe in them or you don't," he said of educational choice and school vouchers. Johnson also applied this theory to international commerce, saying that he fully supported free trade and the elimination of barriers to trade with other countries.

Regarding health care, Johnson said that he favored giving American citizens more opportunities for and knowledge of their own health care.

"It is anything but a free market," he said, noting that current insurance structures mask and increase the actual costs of health care and procedures. As such, he supported the advertisement of health care pricing, in addition to the specialization of medical care facilities.

"If there had been a stitch clinic in Albuquerque, the same procedure that cost $750 in an emergency room might have only cost $75," he said, referring to a skiing accident that required him to receive minor stitch work.

Johnson also spoke about immigration reform, stating that he would work to make it easier to obtain a work visa, thus allowing the huge numbers of potential immigrants who want to work in the United States greater access to the opportunity. He also defended his support of lenient amnesty policies.

"[An] amnesty grace period has never meant citizenship," he said.

Johnson, whom some people consider a potential 2012 presidential candidate, has gained a reputation for his libertarian leanings and has often been courted by the Libertarian Party as a potential candidate for public office. He has, however, maintained that he does not intend to switch affiliations.