When the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted recently to allow retroactive reconsideration of some drug convictions, it was wisely chipping away at the edifice of injustice put in place as part of the nation's war on drugs.

The commission is the federal agency that sets sentencing guidelines for the federal courts. The commission is part of the judicial branch, but its actions are not immune to the pressures and constraints of politics. Its members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and if the guidelines it promulgates clash too dramatically with the preferred policies of the administration in power or of the party in control of Congress, commission members could feel the heat.

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Montpelier, Vt. -- For almost two decades, the Vermont Corrections Department has grappled with ever larger numbers of inmates being sent their way.

New prisons have been built, cutting-edge social programs designed to keep people from needing prison have been implemented and inmates have been sent to other states for long-term, less expensive housing.

Yet, despite occasional pauses in the rate of growth, the number of people in state custody has continued to grow. In an era of fiscal prudence, the Legislature has regularly funded double-digit increases to keep pace.

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If the Democrats are looking for a compelling candidate to run against Jim Douglas, I suggest they put forth Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand. His position on our wrong-headed, Draconian drug laws demonstrates that he is not only a clear-thinking person but one who's willing to take a principled position, despite the potential fallout. I would like to know more about his thoughts on global warming and our illegal, unprovoked invasion of Iraq.

Meanwhile, congratulations to those attorneys who signed Friday's "War On Drugs" petition in The Times Argus.

Strat Douthat,

Montpelier

[end]

Gov. Jim Douglas on Tuesday lifted the order he gave last month for state law enforcement agencies to refer significant first-time marijuana cases away from Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand.

Douglas announced that he's satisfied Sand will not treat all such cases by sending them to court diversion, as he did with a recent felony marijuana case. The truce came after an e-mail exchange Tuesday between Sand and Susanne Young, the governor's legal counsel, in which Sand clarified that he doesn't have a blanket policy for handling cases.

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Gov. James Douglas on Tuesday rescinded his policy of bypassing Windsor County State Attorney Robert Sand's office for the prosecution of major marijuana possession cases.

Douglas said Tuesday afternoon he was "heartened" to hear this week that Sand, who supports the decriminalization of marijuana, does not have a "blanket policy" to send possession cases to the court diversion program.

Coupled with Sand's recent meeting with Windsor County law enforcement to discuss his views on drug cases, Douglas said he was satisfied the prosecutor does not have a "one size fits all" policy.

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MONTPELIER - Gov. James Douglas said Friday he does not see a contradiction in his handling of two major marijuana busts - one of which he criticized for alleged leniency and the other that he didn't.

This fall, when Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand, a Democrat, approved court diversion for a Windsor lawyer arrested with more than two pounds of pot and 32 growing plants, Douglas, a Republican, ordered state law enforcement to send all future marijuana cases from that county to state prosecutors.

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WHITE RIVER JCT. -- Under fire over his handling of a felony marijuana case, Windsor County's pro-legalization prosecutor met with county police chiefs to discuss how they will process similar cases in the future.

State's Attorney Robert Sand spent about 90 minutes with the chiefs Tuesday in what participants called a frank discussion about his handling of the Martha Davis case.

Sand was criticized for allowing Davis -- a lawyer and former part-time judge -- to enroll in a court diversion program after her Oct. 10 arrest on felony marijuana cultivation charges. Davis, 61, was charged after game wardens looking for a dead deer she had reported on her Windsor property allegedly found marijuana plants and 2-1/2 pounds of the drug.

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I am writing in support of Robert Sand, the Windsor County state's attorney, for offering diversion to Martha Davis, a 61-year-old woman without any criminal record.

I do not know Ms. Davis, but it appears that she is not a drug dealer and is not a threat to anyone.

I do know Bobby Sand. He is a good prosecutor with years of experience dealing with all types of cases.

He is tough when necessary, but also fair, honest and decent.

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At least two Times-Argus letter writers have made false claims lately regarding the supposed harmlessness of marijuana. Walter Carpenter claims that "marijuana does far less harm than cigarettes," and Clancy DeSmit asserts that "We all know that alcohol and/or tobacco are far more harmful to individuals and society than marijuana."

We do? Actually, not. Contrary to perceived hippie lore, marijuana has been shown in numerous scientific studies to be both far more harmful to the lungs and immune system than cigarette smoke and more damaging to brain function and learning ability than comparable alcohol use.

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In response to the Wednesday, Nov. 14 article titled "Lawmakers jump to prosecutor's defense," to me, it seems strange that the governor's office can respond to dozens of calls in as drastic a measure as usurping Mr. Sand's ability to reduce harm to society, financially, socially and morally as well as the cost to the voters and working folks of Windsor County.

I have met Mr. Sand on several occasions and found him to be a clear, conscientious and articulate person. The good folks of Windsor County are fortunate to have a forward-thinking servant that's all about reducing costs and harm to society and better focusing on harm against persons or property.

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I am writing in support of Robert Sand, Windsor County State's Attorney. It's important for our elected officials to speak out and speak truth to power. Robert Sand is courageous and people should listen to what he has to say about marijuana.

We need to change the law. We need to think more progressively.

State law continues to incarcerate Vermonters who use, possess, cultivate or distribute marijuana. This is a waste of taxpayer money. These people are committing nonviolent crimes, and they are contributing to the overcrowding population of our prisons. It also causes violent offenders to be let out because of this overcrowding.

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Is it actually legal for a governor to order the by-passing of a county prosecutor, as Gov. Douglas did with Windsor County Attorney Bobby Sand? Or can the governor just do whatever he or she wants in regard to county attorneys and their decisions? If so, then what is the point of continually trying to pretend that we are actually a democracy? As a previous letter-writer in the Times-Argus on the same issue said, "Windsor County prosecutor Bobby Sand has opened the door to finally have an open, science-based discussion about "drugs" and "drug" policy in our state." That person is right. Marijuana does far less harm than cigarettes, for instance, which are still legal, and which kill tens of thousands of people every year (my mother was one of last year's statistics, dying of lung cancer caused by a lifetime of smoking cigarettes) and cost the states excessive amounts of money to care for people with long-term illnesses that cigarettes cause. Yet, cigarettes are legal, while marijuana is considered an illegal and dangerous drug worthy of jail sentences and criminal records for its users. After all, cigarette makers do have more lobbying clout than marijuana growers or importers.

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Gov. Jim Douglas may have thought he was scoring points for next November when he jumped into the middle of the Great Windsor County Marijuana Case, but the pot and the plot are definitely thickening.

Martha Davis, a Woodstock Generation lawyer and part-time family court judge who called Fish & Wildlife over a dead deer, got popped for the 2 1/2 pounds and 32 small marijuana plants the officials discovered on her property.

State's Attorney Bobby Sand, a decriminalization advocate, gave the first-time offender a shot at court diversion.

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MONTPELIER -- Franklin Billings Jr., a former chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, said Friday that Gov. James Douglas was wrong to tell state law enforcement officers to not take significant marijuana cases from the office of Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand.

"I think the prosecutors have the sole discretion, or they should have," said Billings, a Republican and former speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives.

"He certainly has a right to speak his piece," Billings said of the governor. "You don't throw everybody in jail because they are charged with a crime. You have to look at every case."

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Last week Gov. Douglas demonstrated he would rather grab a sound byte than enter into discussion to change failed policy.

The war on drugs is failed policy. Windsor County State's Attorney Robert L. Sand is trying to start a dialogue to deal with this failed policy. In response to Sand's efforts, Gov. Douglas ordered law enforcement officers to send Windsor County drug cases to Bill Sorrell, Attorney General for the State of Vermont, instead of to Sand.

To give a sense of the dialogue Mr. Sand wants to start, I give up my column to his op-ed piece, originally printed in January and February 2007 in the Rutland Herald, the Barre Times Argus, and the Valley News of White River Junction.

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Windsor county prosecutor Robby Sand has opened the door to finally have an open, science-based discussion about "drugs" and "drug" policy in our state. ("Pot possession case referred to diversion," Nov. 6) The mere reality that marijuana is in the same schedule as heroin should be enough to question our current policies.

In my opinion, marijuana is in many ways the "cash cow" for many drug enforcement agencies. And at the same time is a large waste of police time and energy. I'm sure taxpayers would rather have their police force solving and preventing violent crimes instead of spending time testing and arresting someone for a "leafy green substance" as it's called in news story after news story. It takes up court time, and the arrested often ends up with only probation.

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WHITE RIVER JUNCTION -- It all started when Martha Davis called authorities about the dead deer she found on her property.

When a game warden responded and went looking for it, he spotted marijuana plants in a backyard flower bed, triggering a series of events that led to the arrest of the lawyer, a prosecutor's decision to go easy on her and the subsequent intervention of an outraged Gov. Jim Douglas.

Now, supporters of Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand are speaking out on his behalf in a case that has renewed debate about Vermont drug policy and ignited concerns about political interference.

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WHITE RIVER JUNCTION -- Most of the Windsor County legislative delegation has called on Gov. James Douglas to withdraw his directive against Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand over his controversial decision to refer a marijuana possession case to court diversion.

"Our concern is based on the integrity of county government, voters' rights and the well-established legal principle of prosecutorial discretion," read a portion of the two-page letter, signed by Sen. John Campbell, D-Windsor, Sen. Richard McCormack, D-Windsor, and 11 House members, all Democrats or Progressives.

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The Progressive Party had four morning breakout sessions on its convention agenda. One on "Agriculture." One on "Economic Development & Tax Reform." Another on "Health Care," and a fourth on "Drug Policy & Correcting Corrections." According to the printed agenda, the drug-policy session was to have been moderated by Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand -- someone in the news last week.

But State Chair Martha Abbott informed the delegates that State's Attorney Sand had called her the night before and informed her he would not be able to make it as planned.

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BRATTLEBORO -- Windham County's two Democratic state senators say they intend to push for the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, plans to introduce a bill that would make possession of small quantities of marijuana a civil, rather than a criminal, offense. While she said the details of the bill are still being worked out, those caught with "a couple ounces" of marijuana would face fines rather than jail time -- and the offense would not appear on their criminal record.

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