No, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano isn't high. He's well aware that federal law prohibits the legalization of marijuana sales in California. He also knows President Obama opposes changing the federal law. So what's the San Francisco Democrat up to with AB 390, his proposal to legalize and tax weed to ease the state's deficit? Think of it as a conversation starter - a necessary first step toward bringing more reason into U.S. drug laws. They won't change without pressure and leadership from states such as California. [continues 414 words]
Drug addiction shouldn't be a crime -- the real crime would be if reform of New York's draconian drug laws were stymied yet again The draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws represent a misguided and ineffective regime for addressing drug use and addiction -- health issues, not criminal issues. With legislation passed this week by the Assembly, New York may be ready to shift towards a more reasonable -- and affordable -- approach guided by public health and safety. Enacted in 1973, the Rockefeller Drug Laws mandate extremely harsh prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts of drugs. Supposedly intended to target major dealers, most of the people incarcerated under these laws are convicted of low-level, nonviolent offenses, and many of them have no prior criminal record. Approximately 12,000 people are locked up for drug offenses in New York State prisons, representing nearly 21 percent of the prison population. [continues 479 words]
Majority Calls Rockefeller Rollback A 'Budgetary And Economic Issue' ALBANY - The state Senate's Democratic majority will attempt to find a politically feasible path for supporting the reform of the Rockefeller drug laws by rolling the measure into their larger budget proposal. The state Assembly on Wednesday passed reform of the 35-year-old drug laws, which have for almost as long been assailed by critics as draconian. But the thin two-seat Democratic margin in the Senate makes the legislation's prospects in that chamber more politically perilous. [continues 192 words]
So here are the state Senate Democrats, only barely in the majority, and under siege for the mere possibility that they'll follow the Assembly and reform New York's infamous Rockefeller-era drug laws. "This is the beginning of the end," proclaims Sen. Martin Golden, R-Brooklyn. His point is unmistakable. To support drug law reform is to be soft on crime. The Senate Democrats would have to fight to keep their majority with that hanging over their heads. They could, of course, turn the argument around. To resist reform is to cling to policies that have been a failure by almost every measure. [continues 374 words]
No, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano isn't high. He's well aware that federal law prohibits the legalization of marijuana sales in California. He also knows President Obama opposes changing the federal law. So what's the San Francisco Democrat up to with AB 390, his proposal to legalize and tax weed to ease the state's deficit? Think of it as a conversation starter -- a necessary first step toward bringing more reason into U.S. drug laws. They won't change without pressure and leadership from states such as California. [continues 414 words]
ALBANY -- The State Legislature took pivotal steps on Wednesday toward repealing much of what remains of the state's 1970s-era drug laws, which have tied judges' hands and required them to impose mandatory prison terms for many nonviolent drug offenses. The Assembly approved legislation, 96 to 46, that would restore judges' discretion in many lower-level drug-possession crimes that are felonies by eliminating laws that require a prosecutor's consent before judges can send certain felons to drug treatment instead of prison. [continues 643 words]
Give Judges More Sentencing Authority The state Legislature this week will begin discussing further reform of the draconian Rockefeller-era drug laws with proposals to give judges more discretion to consider alternatives to prison for some people convicted of drug crimes. Reforms enacted in 2004 revised the harshest mandatory sentences under the strict laws enacted in 1973 when Nelson Rockefeller was governor by reducing the length of prison terms and increasing the amount of drugs that could lead to longer sentences. But they left in place mandatory minimum sentences judges must impose. [continues 195 words]
THE last time Louis Carrasquillo was arrested, on Sutphin Boulevard in South Jamaica, Queens, he was 45 years old. It was 1995, and he had been getting high for 35 years; he started sniffing glue when he was 10, and was injecting heroin by 13. He had been arrested before, and spent time in state prison in the 1980s for the criminal sale of a controlled substance, though he said he sold drugs only when he needed money to support his habit. [continues 674 words]
On a fall afternoon in 2002, the New York City police broke up a protest in front of Gov. George E. Pataki's office in Midtown Manhattan and hauled a dozen demonstrators away. The protesters were demanding that Mr. Pataki repeal the state's 30-year-old drug sentencing laws, widely regarded as the nation's most unforgiving. One of those placed in plastic handcuffs and carted off to a police station was a state senator named David A. Paterson. Now, with Mr. Paterson in the governor's mansion and Democrats in control of both houses of the State Legislature, an aggressive effort is under way to finally dismantle what remains of the stringent 1970s-era drug laws, which imposed stiff mandatory sentences as a way to combat the heroin epidemic then gripping New York City. [continues 948 words]
The Assembly's Democratic majority today launches a drive to soften state drug laws. Pray it fails, because at risk is continued success in the war on crime. They're rolling out legislation pushed by so-called reformers who have long agitated to weaken penalties under the tough Rockefeller drug laws. The bill is a dream come true for dealers, as well as for proponents of decriminalization. The measure is based on the outdated perception that the Rockefeller laws have packed prisons with hapless addicts and unwitting first-time offenders - when actually, the statutes have played an important role in cleaning up the streets. [continues 331 words]
As Somewhat Shamed Swimmer Continues To Make Splashes, The War On Drugs Continues Unsuccessfully I'm not sure if USA Swimming's impotent three-month suspension of Michael Phelps is worse than the media's hysteria over 'the bong incident,' but one thing is certain: Phelps is the latest scapegoat in the war on drugs. Drug-related issues are a perennial scare tactic because they stir voter emotions and maintain the press's ratings. The outrage triggered by the infamous bong photo proves America's faux war on drugs still exists. [continues 568 words]
It Says Current Sentencing, Drug Treatment Laws Are Confounding ALBANY - New York should expand access to drug treatment and alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent felony offenders, establish a system of largely fixed prison terms, and adopt a graduated system for parole violations, according to a state report released last week. The Commission on Sentencing Reform released its recommendations after about 18 months of studying sentencing laws, which have not undergone a thorough revision in more than 40 years. The state has an "incredibly complex sentencing structure capable of confounding even the most experienced practitioners," the report said. [continues 803 words]
Packaged goods giant Kellogg announced today that it would not renew its sponsorship contract with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps as consequence of his being photographed smoking marijuana. It's a strong statement by the company, particularly in historical context: According to an October 2002 Time/CNN poll, 47% of Americans have smoked marijuana. And users and advocates of the plant reportedly* have included the following, several of whom are admired by Kellogg's customers: Louisa May Alcott Jennifer Aniston Bing Crosby [continues 66 words]
Change is the theme with the Democrats in control, and in Albany, issues are surfacing that the Republicans had routinely blocked. Gay marriage is one, but Rockefeller drug law reform is also long overdue. Governor David Paterson put it succinctly in his State of the State speech: "Few public safety initiatives have failed as badly and for as long as the Rockefeller drug laws. These laws did not work when I was elected senator in 1985, and they do not work today." [continues 703 words]
ALBANY--Will this actually be the year for Rockefeller Drug Law reform? "I think we have a better shot than ever if Paterson takes a leadership role," said Anthony Papa, who served 12 years under the laws before he was granted clemency by George Pataki in 1997. David Paterson mentioned the need to reform the laws in his speech yesterday, saying he "cannot think of a criminal justice strategy that has been more unsuccessful" in its purpose. He was a supporter of reforming the laws as a state senator. [continues 214 words]
The New York State Correctional Officers Benevolent Association which represents the state's correctional officers are absolutely correct in their effort to make the public aware that the state's prisons are still at maximum capacity. NYSCOBA points out the state's maximum-security prisons are actually at 124 percent capacity and the medium security prisons are at 107 percent capacity. Many state legislatures believe the state's prisons are half-empty and that the state could close the budget gap by closing prisons and easing the state's drug laws. I think that would be a major mistake. It appears that we already have too many repeaters put on probation when a year in a state correction facility might just get their attention much quicker. [end]
To The Editor: Re "Pot smokers' defender now puts city on defensive" (news article, Nov. 26): Thank you, Casey Samulski, for covering this seemingly unimportant subject -- New York City police who racially target their drug busts. Why aren't they on Wall St., where a swift stroll through the street can get you high? White privilege, that's why. Randy Credico is one of the few people informed enough to understand the hypocrisy and fiscal irresponsibility of the penal system. It's time to end the draconian Rockefeller drug laws and to engage the police in activities that serve democracy. Karen Lewis [end]
I was shocked to read that Gov. David Paterson is cutting more than $8 million from New York's substance abuse programs in response to the state's current budget crisis ["Drug treatment advocates fault cut in NY programs," Newsday .com, Nov. 7]. This is completely shortsighted. Treatment is less expensive and more effective than the lock-'em-up strategy. There is a win-win solution for Paterson and our elected officials when it comes to New York's budget crisis: Replace the racist and inhumane Rockefeller drug laws with a public health approach, saving hundreds of millions of dollars. [continues 74 words]
This election year, crime and drug issues seem to be off the table. Yet in a campaign season two decades ago, Congress made a hasty mistake that continues to plague our justice system today. In the weeks before the 1986 election, I was part of the congressional clamor for tough mandatory drug sentences after the cocaine overdose death of basketball star Len Bias. Amidst the panic around crack cocaine, as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, I helped Congress adopt long, quantity-based sentences to stop drug abuse and trafficking. [continues 352 words]
To the Editor: With respect to your editorial, "Rocky Place," we need much more than reform of the Rockefeller drug laws. Though admirable in intent, with reform hopelessly stalled by a dysfunctional New York state government, another approach is sorely needed. In 1923, America was three years into federal alcohol prohibition, and every state except Maryland had enacted its own version of Prohibition. State courts became jammed with liquor cases, illicit commerce in alcohol caused rampant violence, and organized crime took hold. [continues 194 words]
