JOHNSON SOLD ON DRUG WAR

SANTA FE -- Gov. Gary Johnson said Tuesday he intends to keep pushing
for the legalization of marijuana after he leaves office in 21/2 years.

"This is really coming from my heart," Johnson told a University of
New Mexico senior history seminar studying the nation's drug wars.
"This is one of those topics that you could dedicate your life to,
hoping that it could make a positive difference for all mankind. So I
hope to stay involved."

However, Johnson said in an interview afterward that he does not know
how he will stay involved in the fight to legalize drugs after he
leaves office at the end of 2002.

Johnson told the students he has decided to focus on the legalization
of marijuana because it is more realistic than trying to legalize
harder drugs, such as heroin.

Johnson disclosed in a Journal interview on Monday, the day after he
appeared on "60 Minutes" advocating the legalization of heroin and
marijuana, he now thinks only marijuana should be legalized.

Harder drugs, such as heroin, should be handled by so-called "harm
reduction" programs, including more treatment and prevention,
government-run clinics to dispense drugs to addicts, needle exchanges
and increased education, Johnson said.

Johnson said his thinking evolved since the "60 Minutes" program was
taped in December.

"Realistically speaking, marijuana is where you would actually start
with legalization, hoping that might actually occur," Johnson told the
UNM students.

Johnson said people are scared by the idea of legalizing
heroin.

"When you start talking legal heroin -- whew, outer space," Johnson
said. "I'm just going to focus on reducing the harm that heroin creates."

UNM history professor David Farber said the senior seminar was
inspired in large part by Johnson's call over the past nine months for
a national debate on the nation's drug policies.

"It's a subject that doesn't get enough attention," Farber said in an
interview. "I don't come at this with a particular political ax to
grind. I do think his attack on conventional policies is useful."

Farber said his class of 22 students is about twice as large as a
typical senior seminar at UNM.

"There was a huge clamor," he said.

The students asked Johnson how the Democratic leaders of the
Legislature -- House Speaker Raymond Sanchez and Senate President Pro
Tem Manny Aragon, both of Albuquerque -- reacted to his national push
to legalize drugs.

"I would have thought that Manny and Ray would have been sympathetic
to this idea," said Johnson, a Republican. "But because I launched it
it's been anything but. ... It's really a phenomenon of politics."

Johnson said he is encouraged that the Western Governors' Association,
at his urging, plans to examine effective drug policies at its
upcoming summer meeting in June in Hawaii.

"That's very significant," Johnson said. "Ideally, something comes out
of the Western Governors and then moves on to the National Governors
Association."