DON'T LET THIS DEAL GO DOWN . . .

As November approaches, voters may be hearing more about a ballot
initiative that purports to be meaningful drug policy reform but in reality
is nothing but a drug dealer's bill of rights.

Question 8, while claiming to provide treatment for drug users, would in
fact help drug dealers escape prosecution while siphoning money away from
drug investigations.

The initiative is a fraud.

It's a Trojan horse preying on public sentiment to cure drug users.

It wrenches the tools away from law enforcement and gives drug dealers an
advantage.

Question 8 creates a judicial loophole for drug dealers that would make
mandatory minimum prison sentences a thing of the past.

It would allow even the worst offenders - those who traffic in cocaine and
heroin - to have their criminal charges dismissed.

If Question 8 passes, drug dealers will be able to demand treatment instead
of incarceration even if they are not addicted to drugs.

Currently, drug dealers with addiction problems can get treatment in jail.

No one is opposed to treatment for drug users but if you look behind the
Question 8 facade, it allows charges to be dismissed for drug dealers who
claim they are drug dependant.

Furthermore, it potentially allows drug dealers to have an unlimited number
of cases dismissed, thereby encouraging repeat offenses without any
consequences even if a drug dealer fails to complete a treatment program.

We cannot allow drug dealers to avoid prison simply by saying they're
addicted to the drugs they sell.

We cannot have a revolving door in our courts that lets defendants walk
away from convictions every time they are charged with dealing drugs.

Question 8 would also undermine the investigation and prosecution of drug
cases by draining funds currently devoted to the war on drugs.

By creating a "drug treatment trust fund," Question 8 would take away drug
forfeiture assets that help sustain law enforcement's efforts against drug
dealers.

Moreover, Question 8 would make it harder to receive assets because it
would raise the burden of proof at drug forfeiture hearings from "probable
cause" to proof by "clear and convincing evidence."

In addition to that, taxpayers would end up paying all costs of drug
forfeiture hearings because assets would no longer be used to pay the
public costs of the hearings.

To expect taxpayers to pick up the tab on drug forfeiture hearings that
currently pay for themselves makes no sense.

And to let drug dealers walk away from prosecution and let a flawed law
foster the growth of the illegal drug establishment is just plain wrong.

Let us not return to the days when drugs were the scourge of our streets,
putting our children and our neighborhoods at risk.

We must not undo all the good work we have done.

We have come too far to allow our communities to once again be held hostage
by drug dealers.

Law enforcement officials across the commonwealth - including the state's
other 10 district attorneys, the attorney general and the Massachusetts
Chiefs of Police Association - oppose Question 8 for the simple reason that
it opens a loophole for drug dealers to avoid punishment.

Say "no" to a free ride for drug dealers.

In November, please, vote "no" on Question 8.