N.M. LEGISLATOR CALLS CONFAB 'PRO-DRUGGIE'

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - An Albuquerque conference on new ideas to battle
drug and alcohol abuse will feature treatment and law enforcement
specialists from around the world.

Among the speakers at next week's gathering will be the chief of
police from Zurich, Switzerland, who will talk about reducing
drug-related street crime.

A researcher from the San Francisco Department of Public Health will
give pointers on how communities can deal with the health effects of
substance abuse.

And a doctor from Darlinghurst, Australia, will give the lowdown on
methadone treatments for heroin addicts.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to expand our current thoughts
about these issues," New Mexico Health Secretary Alex Valdez said.

But one legislator says the conference guest list is a who's who of
advocates for drug legalization and programs that emphasize an end to
the nation's war on drugs.

"The conference is obviously a way to promote the legalization of
drugs," said state Rep. Ron Godbey, an Albuquerque Republican. "From
the list of speakers they're bringing here, they're all pro-druggies.

"I'd sure hate to think the governor is using state resources to
promote this thing," said Godbey, who has been critical of New Mexico
Gov. Gary Johnson's outspoken support of legalizing marijuana.

The conference, called "Working Together for Better Outcomes," was
organized by the state Departments of Health and Public Safety.

A grant to pay for the conference, which runs Dec. 11-12, was
provided through the McCune Foundation by the Open Society Institute,
an organization started by billionaire George Soros that advocates,
among other things, a radical shift in the nation's approach to drug
policies.

"When the Departments of Health and Public Safety decided to do this,
because it is not about drug legalization, they specifically didn't
involve the governor or his office," said Katharine Huffman, the
director of the New Mexico Drug Policy Project, an offshoot of the
Lindsmith Center, which is a New York group that advocates changes to
national policies on illegal drugs.

"They wanted to be sure that it wasn't connected with that issue.
Instead the goal was to have a really serious, meaningful discussion
about community health and safety."

Health Secretary Valdez said there is no connection between Johnson's
ideas to legalize marijuana and the treatment and law enforcement
issues that are the focus of the conference.

"It is very easy to cast dispersions on any activity taking place
around this most critical issue as being an attempt to legalize
drugs," Valdez said. "And I would have to say that is not correct . .
. and I feel very comfortable with the direction we are pursuing."

Huffman said the gist of the conference is to get experts on drug
treatment together with law enforcement officials to figure out ways
to work together to decrease drug use and the violence that goes with
it.