Pubdate: Mon, 18 Feb 2002
Source: Journal-News, The (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The Gannett Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nyjournalnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1205

NEW ATTITUDE ON DRUG PUNISHMENT

It is becoming politically easier to support a multidimensional approach to 
"the drug problem.'' As such, New York state this year should reform harsh 
drug laws from another era -- not to "go soft'' on dealers and crime, but 
to expand treatment options for users, and reduce recidivism and the prison 
population.

The Legislature should grant more options to judges and expand treatment 
programs, as well as so-called "drug courts'' through which low-level 
nonviolent defendants get monitored substance-abuse treatment. They are 
showing success around the state, including in Yonkers, Mount Vernon and 
Haverstraw. Drug courts also are in the works for Mount Kisco, the Town of 
Greenburgh and Putnam County.

According to a report out of the state Office of Court Drug Treatment 
Programs last year, such alternatives have been "demonstrably effective in 
promoting sobriety and reducing recidivism in New York state and throughout 
the nation.''

New York state's 1973 drug laws mandate harsh sentencing for the possession 
or sale of small amounts of drugs. Defenders, such as the state District 
Attorneys Association, insist that the laws, enacted under then-Gov. Nelson 
Rockefeller, are potent tools in fighting violent crime, a key reason crime 
rates have been reduced statewide.

Critics maintain that the laws target the nonwhite population and are 
responsible for filling prisons, at great human and societal expense. The 
Correctional Association of New York says that the state spends nearly $700 
million per year to confine nonviolent, minor drug offenders. In a recent 
White Plains appearance, the association's director called the mandatory 
sentencing policy inherently biased. Studies show that the majority of drug 
users are non-Hispanic whites, yet 94 percent of the state's drug-offender 
prison population is black or Hispanic, Robert Gangi said.

Momentum is building for reform, unusual in an election year -- except that 
the issue has taken on new prominence among non-white groups and, 
potentially, their voting blocs. For the second consecutive year, Gov. 
George Pataki called for changes in the Rockefeller-era laws during his 
State of the State address.

For six years, supporters in the Legislature have been pushing for change, 
with the Democratic-controlled Assembly wanting more softening of the laws 
than the Republican-dominated Senate was been willing to grant. Yet all 211 
legislators are up for re-election this year, and compromise is detectable.

Additionally, a new attitude toward the value of treatment was signaled 
last week when President Bush pledged support and, importantly, more money 
for it nationwide. The Republican president's 2003 budget proposal includes 
$19.2 billion in anti-drug spending, a 2 percent increase over last year. 
While millions of dollars would be used for prevention and interdiction, 
Bush wants to spend $3.8 billion next year on treatment and research, an 
increase of 6 percent.

Tellingly, the "Just Say No'' campaign of the 1980s would give way to a new 
- -- and more realistic -- motto under the current president: "Please Get 
Help.'' During the 2000 campaign, Bush admitted to being a heavy social 
drinker in the past; his niece recently checked into drug treatment after 
being arrested on charges of illegally trying to obtain prescription drugs.

Bush set a goal of reducing drug use nationally by 25 percent over the next 
five years. New York can play a part in meeting it by reforming drug laws 
of a previous generation, expanding judicial sentencing and treatment 
options. And more federal money would help.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Ariel