STATE SENDS DRUG USERS TO JAIL

As Chief Counsel of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, I have known
Ralph Martin for many years and consider him a friend. I must, however,
rebut his claim that "Massachusetts does not send first-, second-, or even
third-time drug users to jail ("Question 8 would aid drug dealers" letter,
Nov.1).

Martin went on to say, "They get help and treatment. We do crack down on
drug dealers who make fortunes off the misery of others." The statement is
wrong on both counts. Massachusetts certainly does send drug users to jail
with appalling regularity.

A typical drug user who supports his habit by selling small amounts of
cocaine or heroin to other addicts is, upon arrest, charged as a "dealer"
by prosecutors. In no way is he treated by the law as a "user." Instead, he
is subjected to the harsh and often mandatory drug laws that require
incarceration and ignore treatment.

The "crackdown" on major drug profiteers of which Martin boasts is likewise
inaccurate. The street dealers who constitute the vast majority of those
arrested and prosecuted for drug distribution in state courts are not
profiteers but impoverished addicts who are routinely found to be indigent
by a judge and are represented in court by public defender or assigned counsel.