ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 14, 1996 TAG: 9610140114
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
SOURCE: Associated Press
With a line of police officers forming a law-and-order backdrop, Clinton declared: ``Today, I signed legislation to crack down on criminals who employ illegal drugs in a sick attempt to facilitate their violent crimes.
``We must do everything we can to stop it.''
For the first time, using a drug as a weapon is illegal under the new law. Supporters argue that dropping a pill in a victim's drink is just as nefarious as putting a knife to her throat.
He signed the measure on a sunny Denver tarmac before boarding Air Force One for Albuquerque, where he planned three days of mock debates, golf and rest. The second and final debate with rival Bob Dole is Wednesday night in San Diego.
The new law provides for a 20-year sentence for the use of an illegal drug as a tool of rape or other violent crime, as well as possession, manufacture or distribution of an illegal drug with intent to use it in commission of a violent crime. Simple possession of Rohypnol, with no proven intent, carries up to three years in prison.
The new law follows a sharp increase in reported use of Rohypnol pills, known on the street as ``roofies.'' The odorless, colorless, tasteless tranquilizer - 10 to 20 times more powerful than Valium - can be dropped into unknowing victims' drinks, causing them to pass out and have little memory of what happens next.
Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colo., has said the tactic is a crisis on the nation's college campuses.
Although Rohypnol is illegal in the United States, it is used legally in other countries to treat sleeplessness, anxiety, convulsions and muscle tension.
The Republican-led House and Senate easily passed the bill this month.
Clinton, who won New Mexico and Colorado in 1992, leads narrowly in current Colorado polls and holds a comfortable margin in New Mexico.
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Clinton. color.by CNB