OVERHAULING NEW YORK'S DRUG LAWS

Gov. George Pataki made a good start last week toward a much-needed reform
of New York's unjust and unworkable drug laws. In pledging to ease New
York's Rockefeller drug laws enacted almost 30 years ago, the governor
proposed more discretion for judges, treatment in lieu of prison for repeat
offenders and somewhat shorter prison terms for many nonviolent offenders.
The governor's package, though far short of what is needed, is an important
political step toward revamping an anti-drug experiment that has overloaded
the state's prisons with more than 10,000 nonviolent drug users who needed
treatment more than punishment for their addictions.

After his far weaker proposal in 1999, Mr. Pataki's promise now to make
drug law reform a priority sends a powerful signal in Albany. Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver and many of his Democratic supporters in the
Legislature have shied away from reforming the Rockefeller laws in the past
for fear of being labeled soft on crime by Republicans. Mr. Pataki's strong
anti-crime credentials make it easier for the governor to champion an
easing of these laws and thus give Mr. Silver a chance to push for an even
more substantial and workable final package.

Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, a Queens Democrat who is chairman of the
Correction Committee, has been on an urgent but lonely crusade for years to
overturn the laws that impose automatic sentences of 15 years in prison for
some first-time offenders. Mr. Aubry, who would prefer to abolish the laws
entirely, is nevertheless encouraged that the governor laid out a framework
for legislation that includes somewhat more discretion for judges. The
Rockefeller experiment took away judicial discretion on many drug issues.

Mr. Pataki has proposed softening some of the mandatory sentences, at the
same time that he wants to toughen state drug laws involving weapons, drug
kingpins and the use of minors in drug trafficking. The best solution would
be to give judges maximum discretion at sentencing to consider the
circumstances of the crime and the offender's background, including the
discretion to send a user for treatment instead of jail time. Mr. Pataki's
proposal would allow such discretion for those convicted a second time, but
some first-time offenders would still face a mandatory 10-year jail sentence.

Lawmakers in Albany should also find a way to budget more funds for
treatment as the drug laws are overhauled. Even treatment at residential
centers costs less than incarceration, which runs about $30,000 a year for
each inmate.

Mr. Pataki's leadership could help improve a badly flawed and inhumane
system. Just as the governor gave his imprimatur last year to efforts that
resulted in an excellent gun control law and hate crimes legislation, his
choice of drug law reform puts that issue on the table in Albany. The
challenge now goes to the state legislators, who have an important
opportunity this session to end Nelson Rockefeller's cruel experiment.