N.M. GOV. WANTS DRUGS LEGALIZED

The cyclist focused hard on the deserted road ahead as he pumped his way up
a steep slope amid the scrub-covered mountains of southern New Mexico. The
sun was just coming up, and he was on the last leg of a five-day, 430-mile
journey. But Gary Johnson had barely broken a sweat.

The Republican governor and triathlete has never attempted an uphill battle
he thought he couldn't win. That goes for his latest cause: trying to
convince anyone who will listen that drugs should be legalized.

Johnson, 46, is a former drug user who now gets high on nothing more than
his own endorphins. He has shocked politicians in both parties by becoming
the nation's leading proponent of the legalization of such drugs as
marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

Johnson doesn't drink or smoke, and has a bet with colleagues about who can
survive longer without cake, cookies or colas. He insists his athleticism
and position on drugs are not contradictory, saying legalization would curb
drug-related health problems by controlling dosages, frequency and
paraphernalia.

``Drugs are a bad choice. They're a handicap,'' he says. ``But does that
warrant putting that person in jail or putting a felony on their record for
the rest of their lives?''

Johnson says drugs should be regulated and taxed much like cigarettes and
liquor. He envisions a scenario in which marijuana would be legalized
first, followed by more dangerous drugs such as heroin and cocaine, which
would be available by prescription, only for addicts.

Johnson admits he doesn't have a specific, detailed plan, but says he wants
to start a debate on the issue.

In his home state, which last year led the nation in drug-induced deaths,
Johnson's views on drug legalization have been labeled crazy and
irresponsible by both Democrats and Republicans.

His own public safety secretary insists Johnson's crusade has crushed the
morale of law officers fighting the war on drugs. U.S. drug czar Barry
McCaffrey has ridiculed the governor as ``Puff Daddy Johnson'' and rushed
to New Mexico earlier this month to denounce Johnson's position.

Where others see dissension, Johnson sees progress.

``If this were a wacko idea,'' he says, ``then it wouldn't be going
anywhere, there wouldn't be any attention given to it at all.'' A
millionaire who made his fortune in the construction business, Johnson
ousted New Mexico's longest-serving governor in 1994 to capture his first
elective office.

The next year he vetoed a record 200 bills. He later became the first New
Mexico governor to be held in contempt of court when he failed to halt a
welfare program he implemented without legislative approval. He has also
become one of the country's most vocal champions of school vouchers.

State Democratic Party chairwoman Diane Denish says Johnson's leadership
style mirrors his approach to fitness: He is competitive, unrelenting and
prefers to work alone.

``He's an athlete who has not been part of teams, and that's very much how
he operates in government - as a single competitor,'' Ms. Denish says.

For Johnson, the idea that criminalizing drug use is wrong began taking
shape in high school, when he tried marijuana despite the warnings of
teachers and police.

``What we learned was what everybody learned - that, hey, you smoke
marijuana and you are going to go crazy,'' he says. ``Then, there are my
friends that actually began smoking pot, and it wasn't the bogeyman.''

While campaigning for governor, Johnson admitted smoking pot and using
cocaine in college. He says he quit when, while skiing stoned, he noticed
his time was slower than when he was clean.

These days Johnson says he doesn't touch drugs. He rises at 4:30 a.m. to
run, swim or lift weights, and plans to participate in his third Ironman
triathlon this Saturday in Hawaii. The competition combines running,
swimming and biking.

``The sad thing about it is he's a great role model for kids, and he's
getting ridiculed all the time,'' says his wife, Dee. The couple have two
children: one in high school, the other in college.

Johnson didn't make an issue of legalization during his first term out of
concern over losing re-election. With his second term up in 2002, and term
limits prohibiting a third consecutive bid, Johnson says he no longer has a
reason to keep quiet.

He also insists he has no plans to pursue another elective office, despite
being wooed by New Mexico Libertarians as a possible presidential candidate.

``I would just absolutely die a thousand deaths if 10 years from now I'm
sitting around reading some article about somebody raising the drug
issue,'' he says. ``I couldn't imagine myself saying, `That was something I
should have done because I believed in it, but I just didn't have the guts
to do it.' ''