GOVERNOR GETS FORUM FOR DRUG VIEWS

SANTA FE -- Republican Gov. Gary Johnson has said he wants to provoke a
national debate on rethinking the nation's drug policies.

In October, he will get a chance to do so.

Johnson has agreed to headline a daylong national conference titled "Beyond
Prohibition: An Adult Approach to Drug Policies in the 21st Century" in
Washington, D.C., his office confirmed Wednesday.

The Oct. 5 conference, which will be broadcast live over the Internet, is
being sponsored by the Libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, which has
advocated legalizing drugs since its founding in 1977.

"We think Gov. Johnson's willingness to speak out on this issue is going to
be the beginning of something," said Tim Lynch, Cato's policy director.

Johnson is believed to be the highest-ranking elected public official to
have spoken out against the nation's war on drugs, which he has called "a
miserable failure," Lynch said.

Johnson's stance has caught the attention of a growing number of national
news outlets. He is scheduled to appear today at 7:40 a.m. on the Fox News
Now television show and Friday at 5:30 a.m. on the Imus in the Morning
radio program to discuss drug policies, said Diane Kinderwater, his
spokeswoman. Both times are local.

Johnson has called for a national debate on drug policies and said the
debate has to include consideration of legalization and decriminalization,
which means eliminating or reducing penalties for drug use.

Other public officials who have called for a re-examination of drug
policies include former Secretary of State George Schultz and former
Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke, Lynch said.
Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura suggested during his gubernatorial campaign
last year that the state should consider legalizing marijuana. But Ventura
has not pushed the issue since taking office, Lynch said.

"Gov. Johnson has taken it a step beyond, and the fact that he is a sitting
governor of one of our two major parties is going to have the effect of
shaking up the debate even more," Lynch said. Lynch was referring to
Johnson being a Republican, while Ventura is a member of the Reform Party.

Johnson is scheduled to give the luncheon address during the Cato
conference, which will include panel debates on legal and social issues of
the drug war. Projected attendance at the conference was not available
Wednesday.

"We'll have speakers with a variety of views speaking at the conference,
including Daniel Lungren (a former attorney general of California) who is a
defender of (drug) prohibition," Lynch said.

Other scheduled speakers include Yale University law professor and author
Steve Duke and Ethan Nadelmann, director of the Lindesmith Center in New
York City. The center links the nonprofit foundations created by
multimillionaire philanthropist George Soros, who chairs Soros Fund
Management, a private investment management firm.

"It's going to be a pretty heady event," said Kelly Ward, Johnson's senior
policy analyst, who confirmed Johnson planned to take part in the conference.

Cato officials first became aware of Johnson's views on drugs when they met
with him in February in Washington during the National Governors'
Association winter meeting, Lynch said.

"So we asked him if he would take part in our conference, and we're
delighted he agreed to do so," Lynch said. "We don't know what he's going
to talk about, but he's been a firm advocate of discussing alternatives" to
current policies.

Johnson has stressed that he is not yet advocating any specific policy
changes or legislation. He said recently he agrees with the state
Republican Party that New Mexico cannot, on its own, consider
decriminalizing or legalizing drugs because the state would risk becoming a
haven for addicts.

Still, Johnson has come under fire from other Republicans and from state
law enforcement officials for raising the drug issue.

His stance is at odds with the Republican national platform, which supports
stricter penalties for those who break drug laws.

But Cato officials believe public opinion has shifted on the drug issue,
"which we think more political leaders will slowly realize," Lynch said.

Lynch noted that when Ventura spoke out in favor of legalizing marijuana
during a debate last year in Minnesota, political pundits predicted it
would hurt his gubernatorial campaign.

"But he was elected, and conventional wisdom was clearly proven wrong on
the drug issue," Lynch said. "I think as time goes on, you'll see more and
more people speaking out like Gov. Johnson."