DRUG REFORM WILL HAVE TO COME WITH SOMEONE OTHER THAN GARY

When Gov. Gary Johnson said the best thing about this year's legislative
session was that he "had fun," some of us wondered if he was on drugs.

Given the compression fractures in his spine, that wasn't a bad guess. But
Johnson is addicted to exercise, not pain pills, and so the only
explanation for his version of "fun" is this: He still doesn't get it.

Sure, the two-term Republican governor played somewhat nicer with the
Democratic-led Legislature -- thanks largely to the election loss of House
Speaker Raymond Sanchez and the in-house toppling of Senate President Manny
Aragon.

But in the session's final days, he resorted to running with scissors
again. And Democrats responded by shredding his agenda. Again.

For Johnson, the worst of the stings had to be his failed hope of becoming
the nation's drug-policy reformer.

On Friday, Johnson signed the last of three drug bills that survived the
session. Five others died on the final day. In any other year, such a
partial victory would inspire a celebration. But with the political knives
that await the rest of Johnson's term, the win-some-lose-some verdict could
be New Mexico's final answer. At least for the next few years.

Ironically, Friday's bill signing represented a rare concession by Johnson
to Democrats -- $9.8 million for drug-treatment programs. In six previous
sessions, he vetoed every drug-treatment plan that crossed his desk. And
his first set of reforms this session held nothing for treatment.

What did he get for giving in? Nothing. The most critical parts of
Johnson's reform package died just a few procedural steps from passage.
They languished in the session's final hours, victims of a hostage-taking
duel over Johnson's threats to veto a tax cut he didn't like and a "pork"
package dear to legislators' hearts.

"This was my first excursion into what I call hand-to-hand combat in
lobbying," said former Gov. Toney Anaya, a paid lobbyist for the drug
package. "I'm not sure I'd want to do it again."

Beyond the treatment money, legislators did authorize pharmacists to sell
hypodermic needles to drug users and agreed to let police officers
administer antidotes for heroin overdoses.

A rewrite of the asset-forfeiture law that had passed in previous sessions
(only to be vetoed by a pre-drug-reform Johnson) failed this year. Also
failing was a medical-marijuana bill and reductions in criminal penalties
for minor drug possession.

If you want to add up the blame, start with Republican legislators, who
mischaracterized the bills as drug legalization. Then factor in the
Democrats, who are sick of Johnson's unorthodox style and are loathe to
help him create his own legacy. The negative equation is completed by
activists best described by one lobbyist as "Grateful Dead rejects."

Eschewing the suit-and-tie uniform of the Roundhouse, they delivered
rambling testimonies about drug legalization, an idea that wasn't on the
table. They also disrupted committee hearings by heckling legislators.
(Here's a free tip: If you want someone to change his stance, don't call
him "Hitler.")

"One has to recognize and respect the public's right to petition their
government," Anaya said. "But we the lobbyists had our own game plan, our
own network, our own relationships going. We would have felt very
comfortable doing it according to our own game plan."

So is the drug-reform charge dead? It is for now. A special session this
fall to redraw legislative district boundaries will feature more than
enough blood all on its own. And next year's regular session will be
lame-duck Johnson's last.

But therein, Anaya says, lies hope.

"A lot of Democrats who tried to erect roadblocks to the advancement of
these bills because they were being supported by the governor made it known
to me that whenever there's a Democrat sitting in that (governor's) chair
- -- or even a non-Johnson Republican -- then they would be willing to
support this."

Just think of how much "fun" Johnson will have watching his successor get
what he himself wanted.