A FIGHT OVER DRUGS

A day in court in 1997 in Albuquerque. Public defender Jacqueline Cooper
had three clients for sentencing - a child molester; a man who used a
baseball bat to beat a friend, causing brain damage; and a drug addict who
sold a rock of crack.

The judge gave the child molester three years of probation. The man with
the baseball bat got a year in jail, with work release.

But the crack addict was a different story. It was the second time he had
been convicted for drug trafficking for selling a small amount of crack
cocaine to an undercover police officer.

"I go up with him, and the judge slams him with 18 years," Cooper said in a
recent interview.

"His mother came up to me and broke down," Cooper said, tears welling in
her eyes as she related the story. The mother asked her why her son got so
much more time than the others.

"I told her that was the law," Cooper said. "She told me, 'Then do
something.' "

And so she did.

Cooper, a 10-year public defender who heads the Drug Court Diversion
Program in the Public Defenders Department, has taken it upon herself to
work to reform the state's drug laws.

And now she's not alone.

If Gov. Gary Johnson has his way, sweeping drug-law reform - with an
emphasis on treatment instead of incarceration - will be the subject of
serious discussion during the upcoming session of the state Legislature.

In fact, drug-law reform promises to be one of the most colorful and
emotional issues during the 60-day session, which begins Tuesday.

And while last year the state Senate overwhelmingly passed a memorial
condemning Johnson's advocacy of drug decriminalization, this year there
are signs that at least some minds have been changed.

Recently some prominent Democratic legislators have said they will back
Johnson's drug-reform proposals - if, as Rep. Max Coll said, the budget is
"salted" with money for substance-abuse rehabilitation programs.

"There's not a family in this state that hasn't been touched by drugs in
some way," said Sen. Roman Maes, a Santa Fe Democrat who says he generally
agrees with the Republican governor's positions on drug reform.

"Just putting (drug abusers) in jail is not the solution," Maes said.
"Society has to take the blinders off."

But there are still powerful legislative opponents to liberalizing drug laws.

Incoming Speaker of the House Ben Lujan, D-Nambe, told The Associated Press
he has serious concerns about drug decriminalization. "I don't know that
New Mexico should lead the way in this area," Lujan said.

Republican Sen. Ron Godbey has vowed to fight Johnson's drug proposals.

In a "white paper" he distributed last year, Godbey called
decriminalization "a half-baked idea that has been tried ... over and over
again."

Godbey wrote, "While advocating drug legalization, Gov. Johnson aligns
himself with a small, well-financed group of acknowledged drug users who
are pushing drug legalization in the United States."

Meanwhile, Senate President Pro-tem Manny Aragon, D-Albuquerque, said
recently that while some of Johnson's drug package might have merit, he
considers the topic to be a "back burner" issue, far less important than
education and health care.

Aragon himself in 1977 introduced a bill to legalize small amounts of
marijuana. The bill eventually went down in defeat.

Some Democrats have been critical of Johnson for preaching the necessity of
treatment when, according to a legislative staff report, since 1995 Johnson
has vetoed 17 separate appropriations for treatment programs totaling more
than $3.5 million.

Though the Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group - whose recommendations
Johnson heartily embraced - endorsed the idea of treatment on demand for
any drug addict, the administration has not proposed a dollar amount for
treatment programs.

Earlier this month that advisory panel - which was headed by retired
District Judge Woody Smith of Albuquerque and included Albuquerque Mayor
Jim Baca, state Public Safety Secretary Nick Bakas and state Health
Secretary Alex Valdez - recommended wide-ranging changes.

The recommendations - emphasizing treatment instead of arrest and
incarceration for drug offenders - were similar to proposals Cooper made
months ago when she testified before an interim legislative committee.

The day after the advisory group made public its report, Johnson - who has
become a national symbol of liberalizing drug laws - embraced the report
and announced his staff will draft eight bills based on the advisory
group's recommendations.

Johnson proposes:

. Legalizing possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. Public use of
marijuana would be subject to a civil penalty and fine but not criminal action.

. Making possession of small amounts of drugs a misdemeanor - instead of a
felony - for first- and second-time offenders. Those convicted of these
misdemeanors automatically would be put on probation and put in treatment
programs.

. Allowing sufferers of serious diseases to smoke marijuana to relieve pain
or nausea.

. Changing the state habitual-offender act so those convicted of drug
crimes would not face mandatory additional prison time from previous offenses.

. Changing the law so pharmacists cannot be charged with drug-paraphernalia
offenses for distributing clean hypodermic needles.

. Amending liability laws to allow police officers and others to administer
a drug called naloxone or Narcan, which can save the life of someone
overdosing on narcotics.

. Changing civil forfeiture laws so the government cannot seize money and
property from an accused drug trafficker until the trafficker is convicted.
Currently the government can seize assets immediately following an arrest.
Under the proposal, prosecutors would have to show "clear and convincing"
evidence that the assets being seized are related to drug activities.

. Change the law to allow ex-cons to become drug counselors.

Johnson acknowledges the bills that would lessen penalties for possession
will be the most controversial and toughest to pass.

He said, however, that to pass some parts of the package without the
decriminalization will just be "piling on the status quo" and will not
address the root of the problem.

These proposals have generated national attention. Last week, Keith Stroup,
executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws, said he will make at least two trips to Santa Fe during the
legislative session.

Stroup said he will bring two medical experts to discuss the issue with
legislators.

NORML also plans a $50,000 advertising campaign in newspapers and radio.

Johnson himself in recent weeks has received more and more national
publicity about his drug stance.

There was the Playboy interview in December. In January, NORML announced
Johnson would be a featured speaker at its national convention in
Washington, D.C., in April.

And just last week national columnist Arianna Huffington recommended
Johnson be named to replace Gen. Barry McCaffrey as national "drug czar" -
a notion Johnson has said is extremely unlikely.

His drug-reform effort comes at a time in which other Republican governors
are making similar noises. New York Gov. George Pataki recently called for
ending mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses.

Johnson said last week that at a recent meeting of Republican governors
with President-elect George W. Bush, Gov. John Rowland of Connecticut
brought up that issue with Bush. "There was a general consensus that this
is something that needs to be looked at," Johnson said.

Cooper argues that besides issues of morality and civil rights, it makes
sense to put money into treatment programs instead of prisons.

It takes $76 a day, or nearly $28,000 a year, to incarcerate a prisoner,
she said. However, according to her Drug Court statistics, it takes less
than $14 a day, or about $5,000 a year, for drug treatment.

Overall, the annual savings would be nearly $23,000 per inmate per year.

About 100 inmates a year go to prison in New Mexico for drug possession,
Cooper said.

And, Cooper and other reformers insist, there are added economic benefits
besides savings in the area of law enforcement, courts and corrections.

Addicts who are successfully treated go on to hold jobs, Cooper said. They
pay taxes and contribute to the economy by buying goods and services. Their
families are not on welfare and their children are not in foster care.

Cooper said it is time to get past the "just say no" attitude toward drug
abuse. "The idea of treatment for drug addicts instead of jail is helping
people to say no," she said.

The trick will be getting enough legislators to say yes to Johnson's drug
bills.

Mark Hummels contributed to this report.