The State - News from May 18, 1989

Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp proposed building an 8,000-bed no-frills prison camp on unused federal land in the Mojave Desert to house drug offenders. “A desert ‘cocaine camp’ would free up space in our regular prisons for violent criminals,” Van de Kamp said. “It would also let every crack dealer in this state know that there is a prison bed waiting just for him.” Van de Kamp said the state would need federal agreement to use 500 acres for the camp, noting that 2 million acres of California desert are on military bases. However, Sen. Bill Leonard (R-Redlands) who represents the San Bernardino County desert region said the military is using all its bases, and closed bases could be used for general aviation. “It’s a half-baked idea from someone who doesn’t understand the needs of the military,” Leonard said. “As far as I’m concerned, this is a desperate man running for governor and looking for headlines.”