STUDENTS LIKE N.M. GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE LEGALIZE DRUGS

WASHINGTON -- Not only has the war on drugs been a multibillion-dollar
failure, but it has unjustifiably thrown thousands of people in prison
while lying about the dangers of marijuana, New Mexico's governor said Monday.

Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican, kicked off a visit to the nation's capital
by meeting with leaders of a college student group that shares his goal of
drug legalization. Johnson is the country's highest-ranking elected
official to advocate legalizing such drugs as cocaine, heroin and
marijuana. After swimming two miles and jogging five miles for his morning
workout, then bounding up four flights of stairs to avoid a sluggish
elevator at George Washington University, Johnson told the students that
drugs are a bad choice, but people should be allowed to decide for
themselves whether to make it.

"I hate to say it, but the majority of people who use drugs use them
responsibly," Johnson told members of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.
"They choose when to do it. They do them at home. It's not a financial
burden."

White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey and other officials
excoriated Johnson last week after he became the first governor to support
drug legalization.

"His pro-drug message runs in the face of all the hard work of millions of
parents, teachers, health professionals, community leaders, coaches and
clergy who are working so hard to stem drug use," McCaffrey said Friday.

Johnson found a friendlier audience in the students. "Students are experts
on drug use," said Kris Lotlikar, a leader of the group. "We're the
children that this war was supposed to protect. But I have yet to talk to
any student who came from a drug-free high school. To me, that's a failed
policy."

Johnson said he supports legalization of drugs, but under strict control of
sales and use and with significant taxation. Under a legalization scheme,
Johnson said, drugs such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine should not be
available to anyone under 21.