Pubdate: Sat, 15 Jun 2002 Source: Detroit Free Press (MI) Copyright: 2002 Detroit Free Press Contact: http://www.freep.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125 Author: Tim O'Brien, Dick Gach, Harry D. Fisher, Terry Sam Lamb, and Doug Johnson PUT SENSE INTO DRUG LAWS Because drug law reform opponents Judges Bryan Levy and Brian MacKenzie have no rational arguments to support their position, they resorted to deception, distraction and emotionalism in their June 3 op-ed column, "Beware lenient drug plan: Proposal would create addicts, not treat them." Contrary to the judges' insinuation, neither the state of residence nor the depth of the pockets of the Campaign for New Drug Policies organizers is in any way relevant. The judges imply that the California group supporting this proposal has some ulterior motive when, ironically, these Michigan judges are the ones who have a vested interest in the status quo. The abject failure of Prohibition II has become manifest. Instead of effectively protecting people from the consequences of their vices, the results have been the same as with the first "Noble Experiment": organized crime with gang turf wars and drive-by shootings, tainted products, corruption of the justice system with overflowing prisons, destruction of neighborhoods, and more. Tim O'Brien Chair, Michigan Prison Priorities Project Allen Park - ----------------------------------------------------------- OUTRAGEOUS LAWS I cannot understand how two sitting judges can be satisfied with the present war on drug users. They sit idly by while the Legislature usurps their power to determine sentences by establishing draconian mandatory minimums. They offer nothing but criticism of the voter initiative to revise the outrageous laws that have half a million nonviolent drug offenders incarcerated for drug offenses. Four hundred thousand people will die this year because of their addictions to alcohol and cigarettes; between 3,000 and 10,000 will die due to overdosing on illegal drugs or the use of contaminated, uncontrolled products. None will die of marijuana use. Some people with AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis or glaucoma will expose themselves to criminal prosecution in order to receive relief from their afflictions by using marijuana. It is time to recognize and control all drugs, not just tobacco, alcohol and prescription drugs. The legal ones are not sold in schools and on the streets by pushers, and pushers of the artificially more profitable drugs do not card our kids. Dick Gach Bloomfield Hills - -------------------------------------------------- CLEAR MOTIVES Judges Bryan Levy and Brian MacKenzie take a dim view of "those Californians" who are helping Michigan to move toward a sane drug policy. After detailing all the bureaucracies that keep them from sending drug offenders to prison, the judges ask "what the true motives of the Californians are." Our true motives are that no one should go to prison for only using or selling illicit drugs, any more than people who drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. That was easy, wasn't it? But the drug warriors have declared that pot smokers are worse people than alcohol drinkers and tobacco smokers. Pot smokers have their possessions seized, are fired from their jobs and are punished with jail, while alcohol drinkers can sip Chianti with the spaghetti and have a good cigar without repercussions. If these judges don't comprehend the unfairness of the drug laws, then they must have closed minds and be blind to boot. These are not good qualities in judges. Harry D. Fisher Woodland Hills, Calif. - -------------------------------------------------------- DRUG WAR HURTS INNOCENTS Why do Judges Bryan Levy and Brian MacKenzie hate drug addicts? This war on drugs has destroyed the black community. How many more black men do we have to imprison before drugs are removed from our streets? The war on drugs has been going on for 30 years, and what has it accomplished? One out of three black males between the ages of 18-34 are in the criminal justice system. Our inner cities are war zones where little boys and girls are shot in their beds. Drug addiction is a medical problem, not a law-enforcement problem. You talk about saving our children, but your answer is to keep doing the same things we've been doing. Terry Sam Lamb Ferndale - ------------------------------------------- SHOW COMPASSION California passed a similar law against the advice of political leaders and judges. The program is new, but there have been no major problems so far. But more important, we are not sending nonviolent kids into hell-hole jails to be abused and come out a few years later as angry animals to abuse others. Besides, it saves millions of dollars and shows all we do have an ounce of compassion. Why should only the rich have the benefits of treatment and understanding? I'm skeptical about the motives of these judges. If drug offenders didn't get run through their revolving doors, would they have jobs? There is no evidence that incarceration is effective in reducing drug addiction, and a great deal of evidence of lives destroyed by it. Doug Johnson Stockton, Calif. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth