Posted by Shreya Mandal on 1/03/07

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Albany Times-Union

Put Drug Laws on Day One Docket

By GABRIEL SAYEGH
First published: Tuesday, January 2, 2007

New Yorkers are waiting to see whether Gov. Eliot Spitzer's
campaign slogan -- "Day One, Everything Changes"-- is
genuine, or just a slogan. There are a number of issues
that warrant the attention of the new administration, and
reforming the draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws should be a
priority.

The Rockefeller Drug Laws, passed in 1973, mandate harsh
mandatory minimum prison terms for simple, low-level drug
offenses. Under these laws, people convicted of first-time
drug offenses receive 8 to 20 years in prison. While the
state spends millions of taxpayer dollars every year
imprisoning drug offenders, spending on community-based drug
treatment is pitifully low. Indeed, treatment options for
people with drug problems are too limited, especially for
low-income people. There are more than 14,000 people in New
York prisons under the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Nationwide,
over 500,000 people are incarcerated on drug offenses, more
than any other industrialized nation (and more than the
European Union, with 100 million more residents,
incarcerates for all offenses combined).

But perhaps the most despicable aspect of the Rockefeller
Drug Laws is the institutional racism associated with their
application. More than 90 percent of the people
incarcerated under the Rockefeller Drug Laws are black and
Latino, even though whites use and sell illegal drugs at
approximately equal rates. There is no excuse for this
disparity. With New York City reeling from yet another
police shooting of an unarmed black man, questions of
institutional racism in policing practices are fresh on the
minds of New Yorkers. Spitzer should take note: Recent
polls show that nearly 80 percent of New Yorkers believe
the Rockefeller Drug Laws should be repealed. These
policies, ineffective and racist, waste thousands lives and
millions of dollars each year. The laws were moderately
reformed two years ago, but as Senate Majority Leader Joe
Bruno said of the 2004 reforms, "More needs to be done."
Advocates, newspaper editorial boards, and leaders across
the political spectrum agreed, as did Lt. Gov. David
Paterson, a longtime champion of reform.

Yet real reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws remains
unfinished. Spitzer can complete drug law reform by doing
five things:

1. Restore judicial discretion. Under mandatory minimum
sentencing practices, judges have no discretion in
sentencing. For example, whether the offense is a person's
first, or they are simply a mule, is irrelevant.
Organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops, the American Bar Association, and Supreme Court
Justice Anthony Kennedy have all called for an end to
mandatory minimums because they constitute unfair practices.

2. Fund treatment. A study by the RAND Corporation found
that treatment is 15 times more effective -- and far
cheaper -- than incarceration in reducing drug abuse and
related crime. In California, voters passed Prop. 36 in
2000, diverting people arrested for first- and second- time
simple drug possession into community-based treatment, not
prison. A recent UCLA study found that Prop. 36 is highly
successful. Some 5,000 people a year receive treatment
instead of prison, saving state taxpayers $1.3 billion.

3 Enact sentencing reform. The Rockefeller Drug Laws are
draconian because the sentences are so inhumane. We need
further sentencing reform, including reform of the Second
Felony Offender Act, and an increased use of alternatives
to incarceration. Eight to 20 years for a first-time,
nonviolent offense is what we'd expect from a dictatorship,
not a democracy.

4. Apply retroactivity. Sentencing reforms should apply
retroactively to the more than 14,000 people currently
incarcerated because of these laws.

5. Focus on re-entry. Tie these reforms together with a
comprehensive re-entry plan, providing wrap-around services
such as drug treatment and job training for people
returning to our communities from prison. Help them become
productive, taxpaying citizens instead of being a prison
number.

By doing all this, Spitzer can ensure that people with
addictions receive treatment instead of a jail cell; he can
save taxpayer dollars while improving public safety; and he
can help end the institutional racism in our criminal
justice system. New Yorkers will be watching to make sure
Spitzer holds true to his campaign promises. Anything less
will not be real reform.

Gabriel Sayegh is a project director at the Drug Policy
Alliance in New York City. His e-mail address is
gsayegh@drugpolicy.org

Spitzer Should Make Rockefeller Drug Law Reform #1 Priority, 1/03/07, by Shreya Mandal.

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