GOV. TOUTS LEGALIZING DRUGS AGAIN

FARMINGTON - Gov. Gary Johnson Has Renewed His Push To Legalize Marijuana And Heroin.

"To me, should we be putting someone in jail for doing something in the
privacy of their home that is arguably doing only harm to themselves and
can be considered a mistake?" the governor told a group of San Juan College
students Wednesday. "I'm not advocating doing drugs or alcohol or even
sugar. But what we're doing in this country is bordering on insanity."
Johnson, who has repeatedly called the nation's war on drugs a failure,
began pushing for drug legalization last summer, contending it would cut
down on crime and drug-related health problems.

But his drug-legalization efforts came under increasing criticism from New
Mexico Democrats and Republicans alike, and he cooled the talk during the
2000 legislative session, which ended Feb. 17.

Johnson told the college audience that legalizing marijuana and heroin and
regulating them in much the same way that alcohol is regulated would keep
the United States from having to allocate resources to enforce drug laws
that he says don't work.

Johnson also said most problems associated with drugs are due to prohibition.

Last year, he said, 450,000 people died from tobacco-related health
problems, 150,000 died of the health consequences of alcohol and 100,000
people died from prescription drugs.

"How many people died from cocaine and heroin during that same period of
time? Three-thousand. Where's the bogey man there?" he said. Johnson's drug
legalization effort led to a January rally at the state Capitol in Santa Fe
by anti-drug protesters - many from Rio Arriba County, which has the
highest drug-related death rate in the nation. Anti-drug demonstrators said
legalizing and commercializing illicit drugs will create an industry
targeting young people, encouraging lifelong addiction. A poll conducted
last week for the Albuquerque Journal found more than two-thirds of the 408
registered voters questioned felt Johnson's push to legalize marijuana and
heroin was a bad idea. The poll also found his approval rating dropped
nearly 20 percent in the past year, from 54 percent to 35 percent. It was
the first time since Johnson took office in 1995 that more people
disapproved of his job performance than approved.