Pubdate: Wed, 01 Sep 1999
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 1999 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103
Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/
Author: Loie Fecteau
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GROUP: GOV. SENDS BAD DRUG MESSAGE

SANTA FE -- A northern New Mexico drug-abuse prevention group is
criticizing Gov. Gary Johnson for his much-publicized challenging of drug
laws, saying he's sending youths a misleading message.

Johnson appears to be telling young people that "it's OK to do drugs,"
representatives of Hands Across Cultures said at the Capitol on Tuesday. In
calling for a national debate on drug policy, Johnson has emphasized that
he was not advocating drug use and has called drug use "a bad choice."

The local criticism came as the Republican governor continued to reap
national praise for his stand in newspaper editorials and columns.

Johnson, who is calling for re-examination of national drug policies,
including possible decriminalization and legalization of drugs, also
continued to be in demand for national television appearances.

The governor appeared Tuesday on CNN's "Moneywise Newshour" and was
scheduled to appear today on Geraldo Rivera's show on CNBC.

Representatives of the nonprofit Espanola group, speaking at a news
conference, urged Johnson to write an "anti-drug letter to every
schoolchild in New Mexico."

"The message should be clear, simple and to the point: Drugs are harmful,
they hurt our families and should not be used," said Antonio Delgado, the
group's vice president.

"That must be his prime message to the kids in New Mexico." The Espanola
group was established in 1992 and works with about 700 substance-abuse
clients a year.

Johnson's press secretary, Diane Kinderwater, said the governor has made
his position perfectly clear: "Don't do drugs; they're bad for you."

"Every opportunity he has to speak to school children, he makes the point,
'Don't do drugs,' '' Kinderwater said.

While the Espanola group criticized Johnson for raising the issue of drug
legalization, Harry Montoya, the group's president, agreed there needs to
be discussion about the nation's drug policies.

"There needs to be a dialogue about what works and what doesn't," Montoya
said. "I agree (with Johnson) that there needs to be more emphasis on
treatment and prevention, but not at the expense of prosecution."

Johnson has suggested that much of the money being spent on the nation's
"war on drugs" might be better spent on drug treatment and education
programs. He also has said he does not believe that people belong in jail
for using drugs, but that he will abide by existing laws while working to
change them.

Johnson has been praised in newspapers across the country for frankness in
acknowledging during his first gubernatorial campaign, in 1994, that he had
used marijuana and cocaine while a student at the University of New Mexico
in the early 1970s.

The national media attention to Johnson grew after Republican presidential
candidate George W. Bush refused to answer questions about his possible
past drug use.

"Gary E. Johnson for president," columnist Robert Scheer wrote in the Los
Angeles Times last week. Scheer called Johnson "just about the only
politician with the gumption to admit he used marijuana and cocaine in his
youth."

Scheer noted that Johnson has pledged to retire from politics when his
second term as governor ends in 2002, "so a presidential race is unlikely."

"But his honesty stands in startling relief to politicians of both
parties," Scheer said. "If Bush would come clean and tell us what he really
knows about drug use, it would be one good reason to vote for the man. But
I don't expect it. He's no Gary E. Johnson."

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel began a recent editorial by saying: "George
W. Bush could learn a thing or two from the governor of New Mexico.

"Johnson, 46, has been elected governor twice since admitting his previous
drug use to voters, which may just be a regional aberration. (Who knows
what they're smoking in Albuquerque?)" the Milwaukee editorial continued.

Johnson also has won praise in recent editorials and columns in The Miami
Herald, Atlanta Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
and The Boston Globe. His position has been noted in stories in The New
York Times, Dallas Morning News and Baltimore Sun.

But, at the same time that he has been heaped with praise nationally,
Johnson has come under fire from some fellow Republicans in New Mexico.

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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake