Pubdate: Sun, 29 Dec 2002
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Copyright: 2002 St. Petersburg Times
Contact:  http://www.sptimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419
Author: John Chase

LOSE-LOSE DRUG LAWS

Re: The huge cost of harsh sentences, editorial, Dec. 22.

Kudos for that editorial. Most Floridians have no inkling of the cost and 
uselessness of Florida's anti-drug laws. For example, according to Florida 
statute, fraudulent possession of 4 grams of Percocet brings a 25-year 
mandatory minimum sentence for "trafficking" (selling is not required). 
Although a 330-milligram pill contains only 5 milligrams of Oxycodone, the 
weight of the entire pill is weighed to calculate the sentence, according 
to the statute. Thus 13 pills bring the full 25- year sentence to Florida 
prisons.

Almost all arrestees are too poor to fight the system. They take a plea 
rather than risk conviction to a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence, and 
are quietly put away. But two local arrestees have the resources to fight 
and go to trial in February. Both involve individuals with diagnosed back 
injuries, whose doctors' mistakes provided these two patients with more 
than 13 Percocet pills, and the patients did not report this to law 
enforcement.

These cases are a lose-lose for Floridians: If convicted, kiss another 
$1-million in criminal justice costs goodbye; if acquitted, expect Florida 
physicians to be more restrictive in treating chronic pain.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens