TOBACCO FUNDS URGED FOR DRUG EFFORT

About $5 million from New Mexico's share of the settlement from a national
class-action lawsuit against the tobacco companies should be used to fund
drug-rehabilitation programs, an aide to Gov. Gary Johnson said Tuesday.

However, one state senator who is a major supporter of Johnson's
drug-reform package, said that amount is far too little for drug treatment.

Some legislators have said they would support Johnson's effort to
decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and other aspects of his
drug-reform package only if the package included funds for drug treatment.

When asked about this, Johnson legislative liaison Dave Miller said the
tobacco-suit money would be a "starting point."

"This would be an appropriate use of that money," Miller said.

That's only a fraction of what's needed, said Sen. Cisco McSorley,
D-Albuquerque, a member of the drug-policy task force.

"We need about $30-40 million to do treatment right," McSorley said. "I'm
hoping the governor will find some more funds for this."

McSorley added, "And we haven't really started talking about money we need
for (drunken-driving) treatment and prevention."

McSorley was the only legislator to be appointed to the Governor's Drug
Policy Advisory Group. He is expected to sponsor several of the bills in
Johnson's drug package.

Miller said there are other sources of revenue for drug-treatment programs.

He said there are at least two bills that have been introduced to increase
funding of drug-court programs. "About a third of the drug-court budget
goes for treatment," Miller said.

Drug courts are programs in which those convicted of drug-related crimes go
through treatment and probation instead of jail. If a participant
successfully completes the program, his conviction does not go on his record.

Echoing Health Secretary Alex Valdez, Miller said state contracts with
Medicaid providers should be written to include substance-abuse treatment.

Miller also said additional funds for treatment could be available in the
form of federal block grants.

He also called upon the legislature to join Johnson in petitioning
President Bush to revamp the budget of the national "war on drugs" so that
the federal government would spend as much or more on drug prevention and
treatment as it does on drug interdiction.

Miller made his remarks following a news conference in which National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws director Keith Stroup spoke
about decriminalizing marijuana for personal use.

Also at the conference was Dr. John P. Morgan, a pharmacology professor at
City University of New York's medical school, who talked about legalizing
marijuana to treat pain and nausea for people suffering from certain
illnesses, such as cancer.

Medical marijuana is another part of Johnson's drug package.

Rep. Joe Thompson, R-Albuquerque - who is introducing a bill that would
exempt sufferers of certain medical conditions from criminal penalties for
possession of marijuana - also was at the press conference.

The patients or a designated caregiver would be allowed to grow a small
number of marijuana plants for use as treatment, Thompson said.

He told reporters that under his bill, those eligible would be certified
and receive a card from the state Department of Health. The card would
identify them as someone using marijuana for therapeutic purposes.

The Health Department, Thompson said, would decide which conditions would
be considered proper for treatment by marijuana.

Backers of medical-marijuana legislation say the drug is helpful in
treating pain and/or nausea caused by conditions including cancer,
HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, neuromuscular diseases such as multiple sclerosis and
possibly others.

Doctors would have to certify that other available treatments had not been
effective for the patient, Thompson said.