GOVERNOR TO DOWNPLAY DRUG LEGALIZATION PUSH

Gov. Gary Johnson, under fire from fellow Republicans, on Friday agreed to
tone down his push to legalize drugs, such as heroin and marijuana, his
legislative liaison said.

"What was conveyed is that he would tone it down going into the
(legislative) session," said Dave Miller, Johnson's legislative liaison,
after Johnson met with Senate Republicans on Friday. The next 30-day
regular legislative session begins Jan. 18. Johnson still plans to take
part in a drug policy forum at the University of New Mexico School of Law
on Sunday, Miller said. U.S. Attorney John Kelly, who opposes drug
legalization, also is scheduled to appear at that forum, which begins at
10:30 a.m.

Johnson also still plans to debate Bernalillo County District Attorney Jeff
Romero on the issue of drug legalization Dec. 14, Miller said.

"Commitments that have already been made, we will stick to," Miller said.
"But probably no forums during the 30-day session. Probably no debates
during the 30-day session."

And Johnson most likely will continue to respond to questions if asked
about the drug issue, Miller said.

"I think he will answer those questions," Miller said.

"Instead of delivering a keynote address on drugs, he would respond to
questions about them."

Johnson has received national attention for suggesting that legalizing
drugs such as heroin and marijuana would be preferable to the current war
on drugs, which he says has been "a miserable failure." Johnson has
stressed he is not advocating drug use, which he calls "a bad choice."

But New Mexico Republicans, including state party Chairman John Dendahl;
House Minority Leader Ted Hobbs, R-Albuquerque; and Senate Minority Leader
L. Skip Vernon, R-Albuquerque, have been urging Johnson for weeks to
refocus on state issues, such as education reform and cutting taxes.

Earlier this week, Darren White resigned as Johnson's Public Safety
secretary after five years in the post, saying Johnson's crusade to
legalize drugs had made his job impossible.

"One hundred percent of House Republicans oppose legalization," Hobbs said
in an interview Friday. "The drug issue is distracting, and I'd like to see
us get back to the other issues confronting the state."

Senate Republicans met with Johnson for several hours on Friday to talk
about his priorities for the upcoming session. They asked him to drop the
drug issue, Vernon said.

"There is zero -- and it's hard to find a zero in politics -- there is zero
support for this idea (legalizing drugs)," Vernon said after the meeting
with Johnson. "It's creating problems for us in terms of what is really
important: getting a budget, addressing education, addressing crime."

Vernon said he would like to see Johnson stop talking about legalizing
drugs until after next year's election. All 112 House and Senate seats are
up for grabs next November.

"We actually requested that, if that's his agenda, he not bring it up until
after the campaign because a lot of Republicans are being associated with
the governor as Republicans even though we're diametrically opposed to his
position on drugs," Vernon said.

Johnson said Friday that some of his comments about legalizing drugs have
been misunderstood and that some have been taken out of context.

For example, Johnson said when he talks about legalizing heroin, he is
talking about the drug being available only under very regulated
circumstances, such as in England where addicts go to clinics. "This is
very restricted, arguably maybe this is more restrictive than what we've
got today, which is no control," Johnson said after he met with Senate
Republicans.

Johnson said he told lawmakers his priorities for the upcoming legislative
session include:

* Enacting a personal income tax cut, possibly in the $30 million range.

* Giving parents vouchers or tuition credits they could use to send their
children to either public or private schools.

* Creating a super-maximum-security prison in New Mexico to deal with
disruptive inmates and gang members.

* Finding a solution to the school capital outlay problem. New Mexico's
funding formula for school construction is under a court challenge by the
Zuni school district, which has been joined by the Gallup and Grants
districts.