NM GOVERNOR SAYS DRUG WAR ISN'T WORKING

Critics Say Johnson Needs To Clarify His Vision, Goals

SANTA FE, N.M. - The conservative Republican governor of New Mexico has
answered the drug question. "Yes" to marijuana. And "yes" to cocaine.

Gov. Gary Johnson dealt with the question when he was first elected in 1994
and is not shy about discussing his drug use in the early 1970s.

Now, Mr. Johnson is calling the war on drugs "a miserable failure." He has
become the highest-ranking elected official in the nation to call for an
unfettered debate on the decriminalization of illegal drugs, starting with
marijuana.

"Personally, doing drugs is a bad choice. Don't do drugs," said Mr.
Johnson, a self-made millionaire who was re-elected last year. "But I think
a majority of people would agree with the following statement: I don't
think people should go to jail for smoking marijuana."

Mr. Johnson's decision to abandon traditional law-and-order rhetoric has
angered some of his backers, who fear a political backlash. Others are
simply confused about what he is trying to accomplish.

"I'm absolutely floored to see a Republican governor making statements like
these," said Laura Folsom, a Democrat and the chief fund-raiser for St.
Vincent's Hospital Foundation in Santa Fe. "I agree the laws need to be
looked at, but no one knows where he's headed with this."

Mr. Johnson says he is not sure what he wants to do, either. He says he
wants to explore any and every idea, including legalizing and taxing all
drugs.

At the governor's prompting, the League of Women Voters will hold town hall
meetings throughout New Mexico next month to talk about the drug war and
its impact on society.

"Looking ahead at these conferences, what is the latest and greatest idea
with regard to moving the drug economy above the line with regard to
decriminalization?" he said.

Mr. Johnson, though he doesn't advocate drug legalization, said that
"moving the economy above the line" means "simply take the economy from
being illegal to legal, where it's taxed and regulated."

Retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, President Clinton's drug czar, has
predicted that drug addiction in the United States could triple under a
system of legalization.

'Truly Nutty'

"There's no emergency room physician, no law enforcement officer, no
minister or no welfare worker who would not step forward and say, 'That is
a truly nutty idea,' " Gen. McCaffrey said.

Mr. Johnson, 46, the father of two children, has freely admitted to using
marijuana and cocaine while at the University of New Mexico in the early
and mid-1970s. He said he considered it the cool thing to do. And he has
said he doesn't consider himself and his friends criminals because of that
drug use.

Mr. Johnson was candid about the euphoria induced by cocaine, saying, "It's
wonderful!"

But he said he stopped using illegal drugs "after college" and quit
drinking alcohol 12 years ago. Now, he savors a reputation as the most
physically fit governor in the nation - a man who runs 10 miles a day,
enters triathlons and climbs mountains.

"I mean, doing drugs is just enough of a handicap, just enough of an
anchor, to cause you not to be as good as you can be," he said. "I wouldn't
be sitting here [in the governor's office] today if I did drugs or drank. I
just know it."

Still, Mr. Johnson said, he is committed to the idea that far fewer people
should be arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned for drug-related crimes. In
1997, according to his statistics, more than 700,000 people - one in 385
Americans - were arrested for marijuana-related crimes.

"That's outrageous. That's unbelievable," he said. "A district attorney
told me he would be sentencing a woman with three children for a first
offense," Mr. Johnson said. "She sold four quarter-ounce bags of marijuana
and a gram of cocaine. He said she was going to jail for five years.

"I don't think people recognize that we are doing that to tens of thousands
of people in this country," he said.

Political Town

Santa Fe is a trendy city. The cutting edge of Southwestern art, the newest
wave in cuisine and the latest in fashion can be found in the shops and
bistros that radiate from the historic plaza in the center of town.

Opinion here is mixed about whether the governor is a trend-setter or
whether he is jeopardizing his other priorities, which include passing a
school voucher program and lowering state income tax rates.

Like all state capitals, Santa Fe is a political city full of talk and
leaks to the press.

Early in July, Mr. Johnson and state Republican Chairman John Dendahl met
to talk politics. Mr. Johnson told Mr. Dendahl of his plans to begin a
debate about drug laws.

Word leaked immediately, resulting in a story in an Albuquerque newspaper
the next day.

Some Republicans threatened to pass a resolution chastising Mr. Johnson,
but most people simply wondered about his motives.

The governor does not intend to move ahead with bills to revise New
Mexico's drug laws, Mr. Dendahl said. Most experts agree that states cannot
legalize and regulate the sale of drugs deemed illegal under federal law.

Mr. Johnson said he opened the debate because he considers the drug problem
the biggest issue facing America. Too many people are being imprisoned and
too few addicts are receiving treatment and education, he said. And
children are being fed too much anti-drug propaganda masquerading as
education, he added.

Fear Of Regret

"My biggest fear is that 10 years from now . . . I'm sitting with my
friends and saying, 'You know, I shoulda done something about that.' That's
my nightmare. That's my reason. This needs to be raised, and my time is
short."

One of Mr. Johnson's problems, critics say, is that he is either unable or
unwilling to clearly articulate his vision.

Would humidors stuffed with pot sit alongside pipe cleaners at the local
tobacco shop? Would young lovers puff hashish at the sidewalk cafe? And
would there be hospitals stuffed with drug users instead of prisons stuffed
with drug users?

"He's spun our heads with this thing," said Dr. Richard Lieberman, head of
emergency services at St. Vincent's Hospital. "He's not talking about
details - distribution, who regulates the drugs and what age groups are
prohibited from use."

Dr. Lieberman said New Mexico's biggest problem is alcohol abuse. Given a
choice, he said he would prefer that the governor begin a campaign against
alcohol.

"Legalizing marijuana will not help our biggest problem, and that is
alcohol," he said.

Joe Carleton, a Santa Fe police officer who patrols the downtown plaza
where young people hang out, also was skeptical. He agreed with Dr.
Lieberman. Legal drug use would just add to the drinking problem and cause
more public drunkenness and theft to support the cost of addiction, he said.

"It sounds like he [Mr. Johnson] wants to put up a white flag," said
Officer Carleton, 36. "Just because you can't beat a problem doesn't mean
you ignore it."

Elise Mignardot, 35, who owns a clothing and jewelry shop near the central
plaza, said she supports Mr. Johnson as long as he limits the legalization
debate to marijuana.

"I think it should be regulated and taxed and the revenue used to pay for
the health consequences of drug use," she said. "Drug use is a big waste of
time, but the label you want to give drug users is 'stupid,' not 'criminal.' "

Mr. Johnson said he sees a future in which intoxicating drugs are legal.
But people who are sober will be allowed to drive cars, fly on airplanes or
enter malls and sports arenas.

Electronic screening devices will enforce "discrimination policies" against
those who are drunk or high, he said.

"You want to sit at home the rest of your life and smoke pot?" he said. "I
think that'll also be a choice."