PANEL COULD GROUND JOHNSON'S DRUG IDEAS

Gov. Gary Johnson largely has been out on a lonely limb, defending on talk
shows and at conventions his call for discussion and reform of the nation's
drug policies.

His creation of a nine-member advisory group, however, betters the odds for
Johnson's goals of encouraging debate of the nation's "drug war," and of
coming up with concrete, workable solutions to drug-related problems in
terms of crime, health, poverty and incarceration.

Charged with developing drug policies for New Mexico, the governor's group
is comprised of a credible mix, including Democrats and Republicans,
members of all three branches of government, plus representatives of health
care and public safety. Chaired by retired state District Judge W.C.
"Woody" Smith, it involves Senior U.S. District Judge John Kane of Denver
(originally from Tucumcari), Albuquerque Mayor Jim Baca, state Public
Safety Secretary Nicholas Bakas, state Health Secretary Alex Valdez, state
Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, and others.

Johnson specifically has asked the privately funded group to find ways to
reduce the number of nonviolent drug offenders in jails, cut drug overdose
deaths and reduce infectious disease caused by drugs over the next five years.

Such advisement could solidify Johnson's position, rendered shaky so far by
Johnson's lack of a concrete policy statement or legislative
recommendation, and which has been hurt by the governor's own
inconsistencies -- like backing off on his original call for heroin
legalization and in vetoing individual drug treatment programs in the state.

While Johnson's drug proposals have been arguable, he is correct that a
reassessment of the two-decade "war on drugs" is overdue.

Despite massive spending to fight drug trade and use, an estimated 80
million Americans use drugs illegally, some for medical purposes. Because
of "zero tolerance" policies toward even first offenders, prison drug
populations have soared, fueling a boom in prison construction. Today, 60
percent of inmates in federal prison are in for drug crimes, compared to 22
percent in that category in 1981.

Communities short on prison space sometimes release violent criminals to
make room for drug offenders handed mandatory jail time. And public
treatment programs are scarce.

Drug law reform is a polarizing topic seriously in need of rational
discussion and solutions. Johnson has taken the right step to keep the
debate alive while creating a platform free of demagoguery, weighted with fact.