SEEK REPEAL OF UNJUST ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAWS

Your editorial ("A needless ritual," Jan. 2) on the injustice and
ineffectiveness of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, is right on the mark.

It is in the nature of youth to try new experiences. Many youngsters,
foolishly, try drugs (as have some American presidents), but the
overwhelming majority do not become addicts.

But in New York state, if your kid has the bad luck to be caught and
convicted of possessing four ounces of a narcotic substance, the judge is
mandated to impose a prison term of no less than 15 years to life (see the
TU editorial). The penalty applies without regard to the circumstances of
the offense or the individual's character or background. For instance, it
is irrelevant whether the person is a first-time or repeat offender.

This illustrates the harshest provisions of New York's Rockefeller Drug
Laws, but they are unjust and unwise from various points of view.

For example, at great expense to the taxpayer, these laws fill our prisons
with low-level, nonviolent offenders. Of almost 22,000 drug offenders
locked up in New York state prisons, more than 27 percent, nearly 6,000
people, were convicted of drug possession, as opposed to drug selling. It
costs $190 million per year to keep these people in prison. Looking at a
particular year, of all drug offenders sent to state prisons in 1997,
nearly 80 percent were never convicted of a violent felony and nearly half
were never arrested for a violent felony.

Furthermore, these laws are marked by racial bias. Studies and experience
have shown that the majority of people who use and sell drugs in New York
state and the nation are white. But in New York, African-Americans and
Latinos comprise 94 percent of the imprisoned drug offenders.

Finally, we should be aware that alternative treatments are available that
save money and cut crime. Studies sponsored by the National Institute on
Drug Abuse have shown that drug treatment programs, on the whole, are
successful in reducing the levels of drug abuse and crime among
participants and in increasing their ability to hold a job. In fact, a 1997
study by the RAND Corporation's Drug Policy Research Center concluded that
treatment is the most effective tool in the fight against drug abuse. The
RAND study found that treatment was 15 times more effective in reducing
serious crime than mandatory minimum person sentences.

For the reasons cited above, the Interfaith Alliance of the Capital
District joins your newspaper and numerous religious spokespeople and civic
leaders in urging the repeal of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. The governor and
the legislative leaders have all expressed a desire to make changes, but
before taking action to change the statute, legislators want to hear from
their constituents. Please contact your legislative representatives now and
tell them that the Rockefeller Drugs Laws are unjust, ineffective and wasteful.

Bernard Fleishman,

Brunswick