Misguided Federal Drug Law Enforcement Priorities DrugSense FOCUS Alert #219 Monday August 27, 2001 On Friday Aug. 24, The Washington Post editorial board published an astute editorial denouncing U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Specifically they noted his incredibly skewed assertions regarding the success of federal drug prosecutions against 'major drug traffickers.' In fact, as the Post editorial reminded us, the true story is that the vast majority of federal prosecutions are leveled against minor offenders, and most of them are for marijuana offenses. The editorial directly questioned the 'misplaced priorities' of both Aschroft's office and federal drug law enforcement in general. It clearly noted the fact that marijuana 'is hardly the most dangerous of drugs', and that 'the unique federal role in the drug war ought to be....the drugs that constitute the greatest threat to the national health'. Please write a letter TODAY to the Washington Post thanking them for their coverage of this topic. Key points could be to note the misleading statements of AG Ashcroft; the fact that 2/3 of federal drug offenders cannot even afford to pay for their own defense; the fact that rules of federal court combined with mandatory minimums force many defendants into accepting Draconian plea bargains; and of course the hypocrisy in prosecuting tens of thousands for marijuana offenses when the drugs that constitute the greatest threat to national health' are federally approved alcohol and tobacco. Thanks for your effort and support. WRITE A LETTER TODAY It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, Fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the MAPTalk list if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one of the only ways we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. CONTACT INFO Source: Washington Post Contact: Article US DC: Editorial: Misplaced Priorities URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1556/a05.html Newshawk: register Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/ashcroft.htm (Ashcroft, John) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) MISPLACED PRIORITIES ATTORNEY GENERAL John Ashcroft responded to the Justice Department's latest figures on drug prosecutions by claiming that they prove that "federal law enforcement is targeted effectively at convicting major drug traffickers and punishing them with longer lockups in prison." The data the department released show almost the opposite: that the nation's tough drug sentencing regime is, to a great extent, being used to lock up comparatively low-level offenders who could easily be prosecuted in state courts. The data, far from affirming that the federal drug effort is a success, raise real questions about the federal government's prosecutorial priorities in the war on drugs. The growth in federal drug prosecutions over the past two decades has been prodigious. Between 1984 and 1999, the number of suspects referred to federal prosecutors in drug matters tripled, to more than 38,000 -- of whom 84 percent were prosecuted. Drug cases during that time went from 18 percent of the total federal criminal caseload to 32 percent. According to other department data, drug convicts now account for 57 percent of the federal inmate population, in contrast to only 21 percent of the much larger state population. This growth is not, as the attorney general suggests, largely the result of locking up major traffickers. In 1999 only about one-half of 1 percent of criminal referrals were for the most serious drug cases -- those involving what are known as continuing criminal enterprises -- and these led to only 116 actual prison sentences. Two-thirds of drug defendants could not afford to hire their own lawyers, a good indication that they were hardly high-level traffickers. In fact, 38 percent of all convictions involved quantities of drugs small enough that no mandatory minimum sentence could be applied, while only 3 percent resulted in mandatory minimum sentences of longer than 10 years in prison. In 1997 the department reports, 14 percent of federal drug inmates were in prison for drug use, and 42 percent were serving time for dealing -- either at the street level or above. It is simply wrong to argue that the focus of the federal drug effort has been kingpins. Rather, in many jurisdictions, federal drug investigations and prosecutions seem to run parallel with efforts of state prosecutors and local police forces. Another striking feature of the department's data is the disproportionate role that marijuana seems to be playing in federal drug prosecution. Marijuana is hardly the most dangerous of drugs. Yet 31 percent of federal drug referrals involved marijuana offenses in 1999, more than for any other type of drug. And though these referrals ultimately produced shorter sentences, they were actually more likely to result in prosecutions than cases involving powder cocaine, crack cocaine or heroine. Marijuana cases all by themselves now account for a measurable percentage of the entire federal criminal caseload. This hardly seems rational. The unique federal role in the drug war ought to be the prosecution of major interstate trafficking cases involving the most dangerous people -- and the drugs that constitute the greatest threat to the national health. SAMPLE LETTER (sent) To the editor of the Washington Post: I appreciated the editorial on the lopsided bias of federal drug prosecutions toward little fish as opposed to kingpins ("Misplaced Priorities," Aug. 24). As disturbing as the figures are, John Ashcroft's doublespeak ("...federal law enforcement is targeted effectively at convicting major drug traffickers and punishing them with longer lockups in prison...") is even scarier. Of course, we should not be surprised that a professional prohibitionist will say night is day if he thought the sun might reflect negatively on the drug war. They seem to think that if they keep telling themselves and the public that everything is just great, it will be just great. Perhaps Ashcroft is worried that if this particular failure of the drug war is acknowledged, then the public might expect all the failures to be acknowledged. To be fair, the demands on the Attorney General are many, thus acknowledging the myriad problems of the drug war could turn into a full time job. It's not just the priorities of the drug war that need to be examined - the whole idea of controlling drugs through coercive force should be subject to a cost-benefit analysis. Only then will we see how much we really pay for the drug war and how, in return, we get nothing but violence, corruption and disinformation from our alleged public servants. Stephen Young IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. TARGET ANALYSIS Washington Post Circulation 1.15 MILLION - Advertising Value Of A 150 Word Published Letter - $2,587 The Washington Post is an influential newspaper that has 71 published letters in the MAP archive. A sampling recently published letters shows the average length tends to be about 160 words, with some as short as 90 words and others as long as 280 words. The published letters can be viewed here: http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=Washington+Post+(DC) ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm Prepared by Stephen Heath - http://www.drugsense.org/dpffl/ and Stephen Young - http://home.att.net/~theyoungfamily Focus Alert Specialists

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