TEENS APPLAUD GOV. JOHNSON

Local teens applauded Gov. Gary Johnson on Tuesday afternoon at Warehouse 21
during a drug-policy discussion.

People should not be punished for their decision to smoke marijuana, the
governor said.

"Ninety percent of the drug problem is prohibition related and not use
related,'' Johnson said as he opened the discussion, laying out his crusade
to decriminalize
drugs.

The number of people arrested yearly in this country for drug violations
equals the population of New Mexico, he said.

The governor added he was surprised when the state Legislature talked about
his drug-reform proposals, half of which passed that body. "When I first
started talking about drug reform, I thought I was going to be tarred and
feathered," Johnson said.

He said he wants substance abuse to be treated as a health issue and not a
criminal one, explaining his support of rehabilitation versus incarceration.