DRUG MESSAGE TAKEN TO LAWYERS

Gov. Gary Johnson, described by his hosts as "New Mexico's poster
child for freedom of speech," got a half-standing ovation from more
than 200 attorneys, judges and others at the Law Day luncheon Monday
in Albuquerque.

Johnson, keynote speaker at the annual luncheon at the Hyatt Regency
Hotel, was warmly received for pushing alternatives to what he calls
the "miserable failure" of America's war on drugs.

But the reception was somewhat cooler when Johnson defended his
51/2-year administration's 540 vetoes, strong support for school
vouchers, push for lower taxes and "vacating" of consent decrees
governing treatment of the developmentally disabled, children in
foster care and prison inmates.

Johnson also cited the state lottery, Sunday liquor sales and his
belief in "Indian sovereignty" as examples of how his administration
has met the theme of this year's Law Day theme: "freedom, diversity
and democracy."

Johnson repeated his controversial call for legalizing marijuana and
adopting "harm-reduction" strategies for heroin, cocaine,
methamphetamines, LSD and other illegal drugs.

"The No. 1 message is 'don't do drugs;' it's a bad choice," said
Johnson, a self-described "health nut" who doesn't think people should
drink alcohol or smoke and even thinks "there's something insidious
about sugar."

But Johnson said he believes laws can be revamped and strategies
developed to deal with drug use, which he said "is a medical problem
and not a criminal problem."

Last year, Johnson said, health problems from tobacco killed 450,000
people, while alcohol killed 150,000 and legal prescription drugs
killed 100,000. Those figures compared to 3,000 who died as a result
of using heroin or cocaine.

Yet, 1.6 million people were arrested last year for using illegal
drugs, half of them for marijuana, Johnson said.

A disproportionate number of those arrested were Hispanic or black and
that's "terribly, terribly discriminatory," Johnson said.

In his calls for reform, Johnson said "getting rid of federal
mandatory sentencing (for drug crimes) would be a logical first step."

But under his reform ideas, it would "never be legal to do drugs and
do crime" and "it would never be legal for kids to do drugs or for
adults to sell to kids ... never, ever," Johnson said.

The crime and violence associated with illegal drugs is related more
to its prohibition than to its actual use, Johnson said.

In a brief question-and-answer period, Albuquerque criminal defense
attorney Randi McGinn said she "applauded" Johnson for his "courageous
stand on drugs."

She asked whether Johnson would agree to a moratorium on the death
penalty, similar to that recently declared by Illinois Gov. George
Ryan after several Death Row inmates had been exonerated, The governor
said, "absolutely" — if such a moratorium were "based on innocence."

But the five men on New Mexico's Death Row are guilty, Johnson
said.

Meanwhile, longtime anti-death penalty advocate Cathy Ansheles,
executive director of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers
Association in Santa Fe, was honored at Monday's luncheon with the
Liberty Bell Award.

The award is presented annually to a nonlawyer who has contributed to
public understanding of constitutional issues and has been of
outstanding service to the law and the legal community.