HOUSE TO INCREASE DRUG PENALTIES WASHINGTON - The House voted Tuesday to increase penalties for drug dealers who involve children in their trafficking activities and to extend federal help for drug-abuse programs substituting treatment for prison. Under the first bill, the mandatory minimum sentence would rise from one year to three for drug dealers who use children under the age of 18 to distribute drugs, sell to minors or sell drugs in or near schools or other protected areas such as playgrounds or video arcades. The minimum sentence for second-time offenders would go from one to five years. The second bill, also approved by a voice vote, authorizes spending of up to $485 million over five years to help state and local prosecutors implement drug treatment alternative programs. The federal government would pay up to 75 percent of the costs of those programs, under which prosecutors select nonviolent drug offenders to participate in treatment rather than face incarceration. Drug traffickers and those convicted of violent crimes would not be eligible, and offenders who do not successfully complete treatment would then serve time in prison. Both bills must still be considered by the Senate. The drug penalty bill is H.R. 5312. The treatment alternative bill is H.R. 4493. On the Net: congressional information: http://thomas.loc.gov/
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