Pubdate: Wed, 26 Dec 2007 Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) Copyright: 2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Contact: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408 Author: Jim Doherty, Guest Columnist Note: Jim Doherty of Shoreline is a member of and speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition; leap.cc. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?244 (Sentencing - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Sentencing+Commission Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/crack+cocaine Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) TREAT DRUG ABUSE AS SOCIAL, HEALTH ISSUE On Dec. 10, the U.S. Supreme Court gave judges some discretion in sentencing for crack cocaine offenses. One day later, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, intending to narrow the stark disparity between sentences for crack versus powder cocaine, revised sentencing guidelines in order to make them retroactive. Why should anyone care about a bunch of drug users -- crack users at that -- who might receive two years off their sentences? It matters because of the racial inequities in our system. It takes the possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine (picture more than two cups full) to earn a five-year prison sentence. It takes only 5 grams of crack cocaine (picture half a teaspoon) to earn a five-year sentence. It is much easier for crack cocaine users to be sentenced to five years of prison. In fact, 85 percent of all federal prisoners in custody for crack cocaine are African American, and the overwhelming majority of them are there for the nonviolent offense of simple drug possession. Because of the war on drugs, the U.S. incarcerates 4,800 black males per 100,000 population. In South Africa during apartheid only 850 black males per 100,000 were incarcerated. The war on drugs is a failed, racist policy. I don't make these claims lightly. As a former public defender and prosecutor, I believe drug prohibition mirrors alcohol prohibition, another failed policy from our past. And it creates the same death, disease, crime and corruption. There is an obvious demand for drugs and when we prohibited them, we created the black market, which has one objective: Sell as much product as possible, for the highest price possible. Now the international drug cartels, and those who peddle drugs of unknown purity on our streets, have an endless stream of revenue. If drugs were regulated we could at least insure their purity (lessening the number of overdoses), make it harder for minors to obtain them, and possibly even raise revenue by taxing drug sales. We need to be treating drug use and abuse as a social and health issue just as we do our two most dangerous drugs, alcohol and tobacco. We need to legalize and then strictly regulate all drugs, which will put modern-day Al Capones out of business. We need to end this racist policy of mandatory minimum sentences, which saddles our judges with these sentencing disparities. Then let us stop incarcerating our young people with sentences that are more damaging than the use of the drug itself. If a person commits a crime while under the influence of drugs, they should be prosecuted in the same way as those who commit crimes while under the influence of alcohol. But mere possession or use of a drug should not be a criminal offense. We need to honestly educate our children about the relative dangers of various drugs, and we need to provide counseling and medical care for those who develop drug use addictions. We treat alcohol addiction as a medical and social problem; why don't we treat drug addiction in the same way? Locking drug users up is no solution, is prohibitively expensive and just makes the situation worse. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake