GOP GOVERNOR SEEKS LEGALIZATION

A heretic in the war on drugs has emerged to shake up the national debate
on this volatile subject, and he's a conservative Republican governor with
an unlikely resume.

Gary Johnson of New Mexico fits a traditional GOP profile. Elected last
year to his second term, he was worked to cut taxes, shrink the size of
government, build new prisons with tough restrictions on inmates, resist
gun controls and push school vouchers. A 46-year-old fitness fanatic who
turned a part-time job into one of his state's largest construction
companies, Johnson is a "bottom-line guy." But faster than you can say
Jesse Ventura, Johnson has gained national attention -- praise and derision
- -- as a maverick governor who wants to legalize drugs, from marijuana to
heroin. His position in a nutshell: "Control it. Regulate it. Tax it.
Educate people truthfully about its dangers. If we legalize it, we just
might have a better society."

Johnson calls the drug war, with a federal budget of about $18 billion each
year, "an absolute failure" that peddles "lies" in its ad campaign to kids:
"They're told if they try marijuana, their brains will be damaged -- a kid
tries it and learns that's not true. He wonders what to believe."

The governor admits extensive pot use as a young man, but says he doesn't
use alcohol, tobacco or drugs now. He insists his is not a pro-drug
message: "Don't do drugs. Drugs are a handicap. It's a bad choice. Me and
my buddies smoked -- did we belong in jail? Man, I don't think so."

He thinks the legalization effort will take many years and is fraught with
its own problems. He would support continued random drug testing of
employees, ban narcotics use or sale to kids, "and if we put all that money
into treatment and education, we would be a lot better off."

Johnson said these things in a whirlwind tour of Washington last week,
speaking to student groups and the Cato Institute, a libertarian think
tank, with stops on radio talk shows, TV morning shows and the Internet.

Other conservatives, including William Buckley and Milton Friedman, have
called for legalizing or at least decriminalizing some drug offenses. So
has Kurt Schmoke, the outgoing mayor of Baltimore. But a sitting governor
- -- and one whose state borders Mexico, a source of drugs -- is a different
matter.

Johnson's stand has been blasted by state GOP leaders, from Sen. Pete
Domenici to Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley, along with many in law enforcement.
The nation's drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, flew to New Mexico on Thursday to
excoriate Johnson for undermining the drug war and "sending a terrible
message to kids."

Kids were calling the governor "Puff Daddy Johnson," McCaffrey said with
scorn.

Johnson says he is ready for the political consequences. "McCaffrey has
made me his poster child in this war. Look, I know this is a zero for
anyone holding office -- I'm in the ground, and the dirt is being thrown on
top of me."

Reaction to Johnson, who can't run again for governor, is mixed among New
Mexicans. A recent poll by Mason-Dixon Polling found that state residents
don't want to decriminalize drugs, though most don't think possessors of
small amounts of marijuana should go to jail.

"But the big story is Johnson's stand against the drug war hasn't hurt him
much," said researcher Brad Coker. "People know he's independent, speaks
his mind, and they don't hold it against him.

"Johnson may be passing Ventura as the nation's renegade politician of
choice," Coker said.

Johnson's stand may make it safer for others to speak out, said Joseph
McNamara, a former police chief of San Jose, Calif., who fears that the
"holy war against drugs" has become too militaristic and is having an
"insidious effect on law enforcement."

McNamara noted that several states have supported referenda for the medical
use of marijuana: "Voters may be ahead of the politicians -- people aren't
buying a lot of the propaganda any more."

Johnson's critics insist calls for legalization ignore dire consequences.
Daniel Lungren, former California attorney general, told the Cato
conference that treating lethal drugs as just another heath or social
problem "would inevitably lead to more drug use, and that's a cost to
society we can't afford."

The governor of New Mexico acknowledges he doesn't have all the answers,
but for now he's looking for a vigorous debate -- even if that means he
gets called "Puff Daddy" by the drug czar.