JOHNSON BACKS DRUG LEGALIZATION

SANTA FE -- Gov. Gary Johnson upped the ante Wednesday in his call for a
national dialogue on drug policies, going beyond his call for mere debate
by advocating legalization of such drugs as marijuana and heroin.

"I am advocating that I think legalization is a viable alternative to what
we are now doing," Johnson said during a news conference at the Capitol.

Johnson said legalizing some drugs -- including marijuana and heroin --
would keep drug use static or even cause a decline in use. The Republican
governor has received widespread attention for calling the nation's war on
drugs a failure. He had said earlier that both decriminalization and drug
legalization should be on the table for public debate, arguing that money
spent on drug interdiction and prosecution could better be spent on drug
treatment and education, as well as other programs.

Decriminalization would mean eliminating or reducing penalties for drug
use, although not sales. Legalizing drugs would allow for their regulation,
including bans on sales to minors, he said Wednesday.

"It becomes a controlled substance like tobacco and alcohol," Johnson said.

The governor said it is hypocritical to allow alcohol and tobacco use to be
legal while marijuana and heroin use is not. He also said, during a
national radio call-in show earlier Wednesday, that he has come to believe
that it would be hypocritical to decriminalize drug possession or drug use
while keeping the sale of drugs illegal. The governor was interviewed on
"Native America Calling," broadcast in New Mexico on KUNM-FM.

Johnson's public shift into the drug-legalization camp came just days
before he is to speak at a national drug reform conference in Washington,
D.C. The Tuesday forum is sponsored by the libertarian-leaning Cato
Institute, which advocates drug legalization.

Johnson, while advocating elimination of penalties for drug possession and
use, stressed that he was not advocating that people use drugs, which he
has repeatedly called "a bad choice."

"Don't do drugs," Johnson said during the radio broadcast. "Drugs are a
handicap."

Despite all his arguments Wednesday, Johnson said at the news conference
that he doesn't believe legalization will occur any time soon.

"Realistically, I don't see it happening. Realistically, if you could start
with marijuana, that may be 15 years off," he said.

Johnson said he's pressing the issue because "it would be better to have it
15 years off than 80 years off."

Johnson said decriminalization would keep the illicit "economy of drugs"
underground while legalizing drugs would bring it to the surface and allow
its regulation by government.

The governor, who cannot run for a third term and who has said he will not
run for another office, said his recent appearances on national television
news shows to speak against the war on drugs have killed him politically in
New Mexico and nationally.

"I'm in my coffin, and they're throwing dirt on the coffin," Johnson said.

Johnson said that, while legislators and law enforcement officials are
criticizing him for his drug views, public support of his position is
overwhelming.

Johnson said his understanding of legalization of drugs has evolved over
the past three months because so many people have sent him information.

Asked about a large drug bust in northern New Mexico on Wednesday, Johnson
said he's required to uphold state laws but that he's also in a position to
change them. However, he said he will not ask state lawmakers to look at
the legalization question.

"This is not a state issue; it is a federal issue," he said.

Johnson, now 46, acknowledged during his first gubernatorial campaign in
1994 that he used marijuana and cocaine while at the University of New
Mexico in the early 1970s. An avid triathlete, Johnson says he quit using
drugs soon after leaving college. He says he has not drunk alcohol in 12 years.

Johnson said legalizing drugs would require a host of new laws. For
example, he said regulations could prevent sales to minors or drug use by
minors. It also would be illegal to use drugs in public, he said.

Crimes committed while using drugs should carry stricter penalties, Johnson
said.

Johnson acknowledged that legalizing drugs would create "a whole new set of
problems. But I suggest those (problems) will be half what they are today,"
he said.

Johnson said he continues to support drug testing by employers.