UNLIKELY PAIR WORK TO SUPPORT DRUG-LAW REFORM

It's hard to imagine an odder political couple than former Democratic
Gov. Toney Anaya and former Republican state Sen. Mickey Barnett, who
is as conservative as Anaya is liberal.

But both men have been hired by the Lindesmith Center - a New
York-based think tank dedicated to drug-law reform - as lobbyists to
get legislative support for Gov. Gary Johnson's drug-reform package.

"How's that for a pair?" asked Anaya, who was governor from 1983
through 1986, with a laugh.

Anaya said he and Barnett agree that the state should adopt a drug
policy that "imprisons traffickers, educates kids to stay away from
drugs and provide treatment for those addicted."

Barnett, now the GOP national committeeman for New Mexico and a
veteran lobbyist, was in the state Senate from 1981 through 1984 and
was a leading critic of Anaya during the first two years of his
administration.

Barnett, an Albuquerque lawyer, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

A written statement from Katharine Huffman, director of Lindesmith's
New Mexico Drug Policy Project, quoted Barnett saying, "The drug war
has been an absolute failure and has cost us many of our
constitutional liberties and freedoms. Current drug policies aren't
working the way they were intended to work - we're not getting the
results we all want."

Barnett was with Johnson and state Republican chairman John Dendahl
at the Pink Adobe in June 1999 when a reporter overheard the governor
talking about coming out in favor of drug decriminalization. This was
before Johnson made public statements on the issue.

Johnson has said he will introduce eight drug-reform bills, including
measures to legalize small amounts of marijuana, to reduce sentences
for first- and second-time drug possession, and to make marijuana
legal to use for pain or nausea relief for those suffering from
serious illnesses.

In his State of the State address, the governor said, "We need
policies that reflect what we know about drug addiction rather than
policies that seek to punish instead of help. We need a humanitarian
approach. The days of the 'Drug War' waged against our people should
come to an end."

Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, who gave the official Democratic
response to Johnson's speech, said the issue of drug-law reform was
"a distraction" and noted that the applause from legislators was not
very loud when Johnson spoke about the issue.

Smith said the governor "was encouraging treatment, but I don't think
he put the emphasis on that. We certainly need to look at that and
find out what the price on that is going to be. I think one of the
reasons he passed over that rather rapidly is that's going to be an
expensive, big-ticket item.

"Quite frankly I think the governor's going to have to do an awful
lot of work on this issue," Smith said. "'And quite frankly I'd
rather him get back on the issues of education and health care and
jobs for the state of New Mexico."

Anaya said he has spoken to several Democrats who are willing to back
the governor's drug bills as long as there is money for treatment
programs.

Asked if he thought Barnett could persuade Republicans - who have
been Johnson's most outspoken critics on the drug issue, at least in
recent weeks - to back the drug-reform measures, Anaya said, "I can't
speak for Mickey or the Republicans. Or even the Democrats."