New
Mexico's
Governor
Johnson
to
Press
Drug
Reform
Package
During
Special
Session
12/28/01
New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican with libertarian leanings, will press for passage of his drug reform package again during a special session of the state legislature beginning in mid-January, he told reporters at a New Mexico press conference last week. The Johnson drug reform package includes eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenses, decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana, legalizing medical marijuana, and allowing judges to send some drug offenders to treatment instead of prison. He introduced the eight-part package during the 2001 legislative session, but the bulk of the Johnson package died when the session ran out of time. The session beginning January 15 is a constitutionally mandated 30-day affair devoted to budgetary and financial matters. Under New Mexico law, however, the governor can also add other items to the agenda. At a December 17 press conference in Santa Fe, Johnson said he would again introduce bills to get his reforms enacted, and he expressed optimism despite their fate in this year's legislative session. "From all I hear, these drug reform bills might actually fly," Johnson told the press conference, citing pragmatic concerns on the part of his Democratic opponents. "There seems to be a realization that if they [the Democratic legislative majority] don't pass these bills now, they may never get passed, and it is something they believe in," the governor said. "So, couple those Democrats with the Republicans that also go along with the legislation, and my understanding is they might actually get passed." But enmity between the fiscally conservative Johnson and legislative Democrats has hampered the governor's ability to move his agenda -- not just drug reform, but budget issues, school vouchers and tax cuts -- in the past. In last week's press conference, which was primarily devoted to Johnson's plans for the budget session, the Republican governor signaled that he will take the same aggressive approach to his Democratic opponents that he has in the past and predicted that the Democrats would be as hard-nosed as ever in their opposition to more tax cuts and the governor's school voucher plan. He is also certain to arouse Democratic ire with his plan to cut back on the state's Medicaid program while increasing funding for the Department of Corrections. In the 2001 legislative session, the governor's drug reform package was not defeated in committee or floor votes, but died for lack of action as the governor and the legislature fought over perennial budgetary priority differences and other issues. Three pieces of the governor's package did manage to squeak through, however: Anti-Opioid Administration Liability Limits, allowing health care and law enforcement workers to apply the anti-overdose drug naltroxone without fear of civil or criminal procedure; Pharmacy Syringe Sales, which removing the potential for criminal liability for pharmacists who sell syringes to possible drug users; and Creation of Women's Reentry Drug Court, allowing for women serving the last 18 months of their sentences to opt for treatment in the drug court program instead of continued incarceration. Under pressure from civil rights and prison reform activists led by the Committee on Prison Accountability (COPA), the legislature also restored ex-felons' right to vote. The latter measure, while not formally part of the governor's drug reform package, is viewed as a victory by drug reformers because ex-drug offenders make up a substantial portion of the people affected by it. Visit http://governor.state.nm.us/drug_policy/ for more information on Gov. Johnson's drug policy platform. Visit http://www.newmexicodrugpolicy.org to learn about the New Mexico Drug Policy Foundation. Visit http://www.drugpolicy.org and search on "New Mexico Drug Policy Project" to learn about The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation's New Mexico program.
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