Gary Johnson, the 26th governor of New Mexico, isn't a typical politician who schedules a jog at dawn merely to collect his thoughts or to be seen by journalists covering the summer meeting of the National Governors Association. He's finished 20 marathons.

He's set to ride his bike 500 miles across his desert state later this month for the sixth straight summer. And in October, he plans to co-pilot a giant helium balloon on a cross-country challenge.

Some might think this 48-year-old governor would be a darling of the Republican Party: A rugged, fiscally conservative politician who has cut taxes, supported private school vouchers and trimmed state government since he was first elected in 1994.

But Johnson, who doesn't drink coffee, rarely eats sugar and stopped drinking alcohol more than a decade ago, instead is a pariah in some political circles. Two years ago he voiced a plan that stirred controversy nationally and in the Capitol in Santa Fe.

The governor wants to legalize marijuana. He also wants to ease penalties on other drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

On a morning run here, Johnson kept his pace between six and seven minutes a mile. All the while, he explained why he believes his plan is the only realistic way to deal with the U.S. drug scourge. The war on drugs, he said, has been "a mind-boggling failure."

During the last presidential campaign, when George W. Bush gingerly stepped around questions about past drug use, the governor of New Mexico grimaced. He's careful not to criticize the president, but Johnson says politicians are hypocritical on the topic of drugs.

Minutes into his five-mile trek, Johnson talked frankly about his own drug use. In the 1970s as a student at the University of New Mexico, he said, he smoked a lot of pot.

There's one more thing, he added: "I have done cocaine on a few occasions."

When the governor talks about drugs, he said he does not intend to glamorize, entice or set a bad example for the young.

Rather, he said, he wants to approach the drug problem like any addiction that can be prevented and treated.

"What kind of message are we sending to kids now through hypocrisy?" asked Johnson, who has a daughter, 22, and a son, 19.

He is the highest-ranking elected official to hold this view. But the idea of legalizing drugs gets no attention at sessions like the governors' meeting. In June at a meeting with other GOP governors, Johnson tried to raise the issue, but a fierce debate ensued.

Some fellow Republican governors say his views are downright detrimental. Others, while not supporting his idea, have welcomed the discussion. "Gov. Johnson has challenged us to think about the nature of the drug problem in this country," said Iowa Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack, a trial lawyer. "He has challenged us to think of it as a public health problem."

During his first term, Johnson didn't make known his views on legalized drugs. Not until after he won re-election -- New Mexico law prevents him from seeking a third consecutive term -- did he launch his crusade.

Almost overnight, Johnson's approval rating dropped 11 points. Three members of his administration's anti-drug task force resigned. Barry McCaffrey, who was then the nation's drug czar, referred to the governor as "Puff Daddy Johnson."

The controversial view on drugs created bitter squabbling among top state Republicans. When a friend of Johnson's ran for re-election to lead the state party, opponents taunted him by handing out pens in the shape of syringes.

Meanwhile, Democrats have had a field day, said F. Chris Garcia, a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

"Even liberal Democrats, who traditionally would have favored the position, have tried to paint the Republicans as being pro-vice, pro-sin," said Garcia.

Even though Johnson insists he has momentum -- several minor drug reform bills passed during the legislative session -- he also is nearing the end of his tenure as governor. His aides acknowledge that the drug legalization proposals will not be passed soon by the Legislature.

So, after he finishes a 45-minute swim that served as the halftime to his morning run, the conversation turns to his future. "I plan to climb Mount Everest," said the governor.

Johnson said he has never enjoyed a job quite so much as being governor of New Mexico. But he insists he's sworn off elected politics. Public officials, he believes, should step aside after a few years in office.

Still, he offers this warning about politicians who predict they'll never run again: "The only time you can believe it for sure," he said, "is when they're 6 feet under."

Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Author: Jeff Zeleny
Published: Friday, August 10, 2001
Copyright: 2001 The Salt Lake Tribune
Contact: letters@sltrib.com
Website: http://www.sltrib.com/

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Republicans, Johnson Differ on Drug War
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10011.shtml

Hundreds Cheer Governor's Drug-Reform Stance
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9953.shtml

CannabisNews Articles - Governor Gary Johnson
http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=gary+johnson

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Makes you wonder how many reporters have been peeking into 'partisan' sites like this one here, hmmmm?

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Governor Johnson has brought the issue of drug policy out in the open. Now it is time for the truth to prevail!

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I wish Governor Johnson would run for Congress. I would vote for him because he is an independent thinker and stands up for his convictions. Besides, he has something the people in Warshington need to see- leadership.

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For a State Govenor to speak the truth about "the drug war" failure is but one more step in the march to Freedom and the end of Prohibition.

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