JOHNSON TO REDOUBLE DRUG EFFORTS

SANTA FE - Gov. Gary Johnson on Tuesday said he would redouble his
drug-legalization education efforts despite the misgivings of fellow
Republicans running for office this year.

"It shouldn't be a Republican issue," Johnson said.

The governor said voters are smart enough to separate his position on
drugs from that of candidates who may disagree with him - whether
Republican or Democrat.

Legislators "aren't getting beat up like I'm getting beat up," the
governor said in an interview. "I don't want to not talk about the
issue and have people believe that somehow I'm shying away from my
beliefs," the governor said.

Polls published last week indicate that "I need to redouble my efforts
with regard to what it is that I'm saying. . . . that there is another
side to this issue than the one that we've been fed for many, many
years," Johnson said.

Those polls showed the governor's approval rating fell nearly 20
points in the past year with the public, and nearly 30 points with
Republicans.

Asked if he thought the drop in GOP support was due to his drug
legalization talk, he replied, "Sure."

Johnson said he was not surprised that the poll commissioned by the
Albuquerque Journal showed so little public support for his proposal
to legalize drugs such as marijuana and heroin. Sixty-eight percent of
registered voters polled said it was a bad idea.

"But what it tells me is that I do have that work to do that I
anticipated I would have to do," he said.

Johnson had promised GOP lawmakers late last year that he would tone
down his drug-legalization advocacy during the legislative session. He
said that commitment would extend through the special session that
began Tuesday.

But prompted by questions from students, Johnson spent much of his
time with a youth group on Tuesday defending drug legalization.

"Don't do drugs. Don't smoke cigarettes. Don't do tobacco. Don't
drink," Johnson told delegates to the YMCA Youth and Government Model
Legislature, meeting at the Capitol.

But he also gave them this pitch: pass a resolution in support of
legalizing drugs.

"Fifty-four percent of the graduating class of 2000 will have done
illegal drugs," he told the high school students. "Do we want to
arrest and incarcerate this country?"

A couple of the teen-agers criticized the governor for sending what
they said was a mixed message.

Since he proposes legalizing drugs, "How can you expect us to take you
seriously when you say they're bad?" one boy asked.

A girl told Johnson young people would be "extremely confused" hearing
his legalization message after getting so much anti-drug education in
schools. "What are these kids to think?" she asked him.

Johnson said the real mixed message is being sent when anti-drug
spokesmen warn young people that marijuana will lead to crime and
death, and then those who smoke it discover "it was kind of a mellow
experience."

"The government should be honest in the message that it's sending," he
said.