GOV. FINDS SUPPORT FOR DRUG VIEWS

Carlsbad mortgage banker Joan Peeper thought Republican Gov. Gary Johnson
had gone off the deep end on the subject of drugs -- until she heard him
speak on the issue Friday.

"I thought you were nuts until I listened to you," Peeper told Johnson
after a speech in Albuquerque.

Peeper said in an interview she thought Johnson made sense in calling for a
re-examination of the nation's drug policies and in suggesting that drug
legalization be considered.

"It's worth examining," said Peeper, who works at Carlsbad National Bank.
"We haven't made progress (in the drug war), and we need a new approach."
Johnson spoke Friday to about 85 members of the New Mexico Mortgage Bankers
Association and New Mexico Mortgage Brokers Association at the Crowne Plaza
Hotel.

The speech was his first in New Mexico since his well-publicized visit to
Washington, D.C., earlier this month, where he gave a couple of speeches
and made the TV talk-show circuit.

Johnson's comments on drugs, especially those supporting legalization, have
prompted a barrage of criticism, especially from law enforcement officials.

But, on Friday, Johnson and his drug policy talk were warmly received by
many of the people attending the mortgage bankers' and brokers' convention.

"Thank you for having the guts to take this issue on, for having the
honesty to speak out," said D'Nette Wood Schueler, a mortgage broker with
Zia Mortgage Lending Inc. in Albuquerque.

The governor was alternately emphatic and humorous in the course of his
half-hour speech.

Johnson said billions of dollars now spent on drug enforcement could be
redirected toward treatment and education programs if drugs such as
marijuana and heroin were legalized.

However, Johnson stressed he was not condoning drug use, which Peeper and
others said they were glad to hear.

"Don't do drugs," Johnson said. "Drugs are a handicap." But Johnson, who
has admitted using marijuana and trying cocaine while in his 20s, said he
does not believe people belong in jail for using drugs, as long as they
don't commit other crimes.

Barry McCaffrey, President Clinton's national drug policy chief, has called
Johnson's drug stance irresponsible. Santa Fe County Sheriff Ray Sisneros
this week called Johnson "an idiot" and said he should resign.

State Public Safety Secretary Darren White, a Johnson Cabinet member, has
said the governor's support of drug legalization has damaged the morale and
credibility of law officers across New Mexico.

But Jack Thompson, president of the New Mexico Mortgage Bankers
Association, said he agrees with Johnson that alcohol and tobacco cause
more health-related problems than drugs.

"As an employer, I know for a direct fact that alcohol and tobacco use cost
me more sick days and more money than drug use ever will," Thompson, a vice
president of North American Mortgage Co. in Albuquerque, said in an interview.

"It's extremely rare that I lose an employee or have sick times due to
drug-related issues," Thompson said. "In fact I don't remember ever having
it happen, but I've had a lot of people get sick and miss time and even
pass away from tobacco and alcohol."

Thompson said his own family has suffered health-related problems from
alcohol and tobacco use.

"My grandmother and my grandfather both passed away from emphysema and they
were both (cigarette) smokers," Thompson said.

Another family member has liver problems "because he drinks a lot of
scotch," Thompson said. "And they're the same people that stand up and say,
'Don't ever smoke marijuana,' as they're drinking their scotch and smoking
their cigarettes and dying."

However, Thompson said, Johnson needs to speak out even more strongly
against using drugs, especially to young people.

Johnson has said he hasn't used drugs since the late 1970s. He quit
drinking alcohol 12 years ago.

"He is a triathlete," Thompson said. "He's in great shape and he's somebody
who could really be a role model of physical health."

Johnson, who peppered his speech with self-deprecating humor, told the
group he is now so health-conscious that "anal as I am, I don't even do
candy bars."

Johnson said he believes he's being hammered by McCaffrey and law
enforcement officers because he is "speaking the truth."

"None of this would have any resonance at all if this was crazy," Johnson
told reporters after his speech.

"What's crazy is the current war (on drugs)," Johnson said.