ANTI-DRUG TEENS OBJECT TO GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE

New Mexico's Leader Backs Legalization To Fight The Scourge

ESPANOLA,N.M. - Teens in this city, known for its high rates of heroin
addiction, have a message for the first sitting governor to advocate
legalized narcotics: Come walk our drug-infested streets.

"Maybe he's never had a family member or neighbor that has overdosed,"
David Medina, 17-year-old high school senior, said Monday. "We've just
grown up with it."

Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican in his second term, drew strong
criticism earlier this year when he voiced support for the
legalization of cocaine, heroin and marijuana under strict controls.

"Control it. Regulate it. Tax it. If we legalize it, we just might
have a better society," the governor told the libertarian Cato
Institute, adding that the war on drugs has been a multibillion-dollar
failure.

Some Espanala High School students in this middle-class, mostly
Hispanic community along the Rio Grande said they want to take the
governor on an in-depth tour of town.

"He should go trekking for trash on the back streets of our community
to see how many syringes he can find," said Milena Archuleta, 16, a
junior. "Ihe legalizes drugs, it's only going to get worse."

Since 1995, more than 90 people have died of heroin or cocaine
overdoses in Rio Arriba County. While New Mexico led the nation in
drug-induced deaths last year, the county recorded the highest death
rate in the state.

"I would be looking to improve on that situation. ... My motivation
here is to actually reduce drug abuse," the governor said.

Johnson said he believes there's a place for anti-drug programs like
DARE - Drug Abuse Resistance Education - and drug counselors in
schools, but doesn't support the entire anti-drug message.