DRUG BILLS OPPOSED BY DAS

Martinez Joins Effort To Defeat Legislation

Thirteenth Judicial District Attorney Lemuel Martinez is among New Mexico
district attorneys calling on state lawmakers to reject some of Gov. Gary
Johnson's drug reform efforts.

Johnson is behind eight drug-reform bills that are before the state
Legislature.

The bills would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana,
make first and second drug-possession offenses misdemeanors instead of
felonies, require automatic probation and substance-abuse treatment and
eliminate mandatory jail sentences for drug-related offenses.

Martinez said he and members of the New Mexico District Attorneys
Association are lobbying lawmakers and testifying before the Legislature to
defeat some of Johnson's proposals.

In a letter written Monday, Martinez said he opposes Johnson's proposals
because:

- - Marijuana decriminalization would send a negative message to children and
the rest of the nation regarding the use of drugs;

- - Decriminalization would result in more marijuana-impaired drivers on the
streets; and

- - Softer drug penalties would undermine incarceration as a threat to those
who fail to enter or successfully complete a drug rehabilitation program.

Martinez said if small amounts of marijuana are decriminalized, "the
penalty for a minor using marijuana will be less than for a minor using
alcohol."

Not true, according to Katharine Huffman, director of the New Mexico Drug
Policy Project of the Lindesmith Center, which supports Johnson's drug
reform efforts.

Huffman said the marijuana decriminalization bill would make the possession
of one ounce or less of marijuana by a person 18 or older punishable by a
civil fine of $300. For juveniles under 18, marijuana possession would
remain subject to criminal sanctions, and the court would have the
discretion to require drug counseling on second and subsequent offenses,
she said.

"That bill doesn't legalize marijuana for anyone," Huffman said.

District attorneys association president Matt Sandoval wrote in a Friday
letter to House members that the association supports increased funding for
treatment, but opposes portions of the reform package that it says will
"result in increased usage of drugs, increases in crime and increased
health cost."

Sandoval's letter singles out House Bill 919, which effectively would
repeal all mandatory enhancements for habitual offenders, according to the
letter.

Sandoval, the 4th Judicial District attorney, said in an interview
Wednesday the House bill would not only repeal habitual offender
enhancements for drug use, but any other offenses. Under the bill, enhanced
sentences would be at the discretion of a judge and would not be mandatory,
he said.

"For example, a person convicted of criminal sexual contact of a minor, a
second or third time would not have to serve a jail or prison sentence,"
the letter says.

The letter says Johnson's House Bill 986, which reduces the possession of
heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine and PCP from felony status
to a misdemeanor, would "eliminate the effectiveness of New Mexico's drug
courts."

Martinez said the bill would take the teeth out of drug courts, where drug
offenders are given the opportunity to use treatment programs while they
are on probation. But if the measure were passed, judges would no longer be
able to impose criminal sanctions for non-compliance with the conditions of
drug court, Martinez said.

The drug law reforms supported by Johnson also would: legalize medicinal
marijuana, change laws to make it easier for addicts to get clean syringes,
limit liability for distributing certain drugs that could help overdose
victims, allow people with drug arrests to serve as abuse counselors and
change state drug-forfeiture laws.

Of the eight drug reform bills now in the Legislature, the medicinal
marijuana bill has progressed the farthest, with one version of the bill
passed in the Senate and another passed in the House. All of the other
bills are still alive, but the session ends at noon Saturday.