Pubdate: Tue, 07 May 2013
Source: Sonoma Index-Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Sonoma Valley Publishing
Contact:  http://www.sonomanews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/415
Author: David Bolling
Page: B2

CRIMINALIZING POSSESSION IS NOT A SOLUTION

Statistics rarely reveal the entire truth about anything, and numbers
can be compiled and interpreted to confirm different conclusions from
the same set of facts.

But that caveat notwithstanding, virtually any statistical analysis of
the war on drugs leads to an inescapable conclusion: It has been a
hopeless failure.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy has reported that in the decade
between 1998 and 2008, global use of opiates increased more than 34
percent, cocaine use rose by 27 percent and marijuana consumption grew
by 8.5 percent. By most estimates, the United States leads the world
in illegal drug consumption.

In 1980, there were some 500,000 people in U.S. prisons. By 2009 the
number topped 2 million. Today, almost half (47.3 percent) of the
nation's roughly 197,000 federal prisoners are serving time on drug
charges, and of California's current prison population of some 119,000
(down from a peak of 171,000 inmates in 2007), about 24 percent are
serving time for drug convictions. And that doesn't take into account
the 74,000 people in California's county jails.

The annual cost of the war on drugs in the U.S. is estimated to be $
51 billion.

We don't know the annual drug arrest statistics for Sonoma County, but
judging from a review of daily arrest logs and our knowledge of
arrests in the City of Sonoma and the Springs, we would estimate
something over 25 percent of overall Valley arrests involve either
drugs or alcohol.

All of which continues to confront us with a profound
dilemma.

Without question, hard drugs such as methamphetamine and heroin, along
with the seemingly limitless pharmacopeia of prescription drugs in
illegal use, pose a critical threat to public health and safety, and
contribute significantly to crime.

If you've ever met anyone hooked on meth, you know the ruinous results
of that addiction.

But it has become increasingly clear that criminalizing simple
possession takes us nowhere near a solution to the problem, and the
endless cycle of arrest, probation, probation violation, re-arrest,
incarceration, parole, arrest, probation, violation, re-arrest is an
expensive form of social insanity. There must be a better way.

Which is one reason we're encouraged by the bill passed out of the
California State Senate last week  SB 649  that grants prosecutors the
flexibility to charge relatively minor, non-violent drug possession as
a misdemeanor rather than a felony. The proposed law does not apply to
people charged with selling, manufacturing or possessing drugs for
sale.

Its author, Mark Leno, observed in a recent press release, "One of the
best ways to promote lower crime rates is to provide low-level
offenders with the rehabilitation they need to successfully reenter
their communities." Instead, he said, "current laws do just the
opposite. We give non-violent drug offenders long terms, offer them no
treatment while they're incarcerated, and then release them back into
the community with few job prospects or opportunities to receive an
education."

Leno's bill doesn't absolve dealers, it could save counties $159
million a year, according to the Legislative Analyst's office, and 13
other states treat simple possession as a misdemeanor without
increased drug use. It's a small step, but a wise one.
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MAP posted-by: Matt