N.M. GOVERNOR WANTS NEW DRUG POLICIES

SANTA FE, N.M. - After a year of criticizing the nation's war on
drugs, Gov. Gary Johnson said it is time to start considering new drug
policies in New Mexico.

Johnson has created a new Drug Policy Advisory Group, made up mainly
of New Mexico leaders, to study and recommend drug strategies he can
enact or take to the Legislature to consider when it meets in January.

Johnson said he isn't expecting the group to back his stance on
legalizing marijuana - a position that has put the Republican governor
in the national spotlight but alienated him from many who do not agree
with his stance on the issue.

"But hey, let's try and get to some bottom-line results," Johnson
said, referring to what he calls a "harm-reduction" strategy of
limiting the damages that result from drug abuse.

The advisory group, headed by retired state District Court Judge Woody
Smith, will explore a number of issues surrounding the drug debate.
The group met for the first time last week.

Smith said that every member of the group agreed immediately on at
least one thing: The war on drugs and its associated slogans like
"Just Say No" are not working.

"I think our goal is to try to make something better out of a bad
situation," Smith said. "That's how I look at it.

"We all know how much money we're spending, the resources we're
wasting on the war on drugs. Maybe we'll find some suggestion for
legislation that, in the end, will make it better."