PUT DRUG LAWS ON DAY ONE DOCKET

New Yorkers are waiting to see whether Gov. Eliot Spitzer's campaign
slogan -- "Day One, Everything Changes"-- is genuine, or just a
slogan. There are a number of issues that warrant the attention of
the new administration, and reforming the draconian Rockefeller Drug
Laws should be a priority.

The Rockefeller Drug Laws, passed in 1973, mandate harsh mandatory
minimum prison terms for simple, low-level drug offenses. Under these
laws, people convicted of first-time drug offenses receive 8 to 20
years in prison. While the state spends millions of taxpayer dollars
every year imprisoning drug offenders, spending on community-based
drug treatment is pitifully low. Indeed, treatment options for people
with drug problems are too limited, especially for low-income people.
There are more than 14,000 people in New York prisons under the
Rockefeller Drug Laws. Nationwide, over 500,000 people are
incarcerated on drug offenses, more than any other industrialized
nation (and more than the European Union, with 100 million more
residents, incarcerates for all offenses combined).

But perhaps the most despicable aspect of the Rockefeller Drug Laws
is the institutional racism associated with their application. More
than 90 percent of the people incarcerated under the Rockefeller Drug
Laws are black and Latino, even though whites use and sell illegal
drugs at approximately equal rates. There is no excuse for this
disparity. With New York City reeling from yet another police
shooting of an unarmed black man, questions of institutional racism
in policing practices are fresh on the minds of New Yorkers. Spitzer
should take note: Recent polls show that nearly 80 percent of New
Yorkers believe the Rockefeller Drug Laws should be repealed. These
policies, ineffective and racist, waste thousands lives and millions
of dollars each year. The laws were moderately reformed two years
ago, but as Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno said of the 2004
reforms, "More needs to be done." Advocates, newspaper editorial
boards, and leaders across the political spectrum agreed, as did Lt.
Gov. David Paterson, a longtime champion of reform. Yet real reform
of the Rockefeller Drug Laws remains unfinished.

Spitzer can complete drug law reform by doing five things:

1. Restore judicial discretion. Under mandatory minimum sentencing
practices, judges have no discretion in sentencing. For example,
whether the offense is a person's first, or they are simply a mule,
is irrelevant. Organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops, the American Bar Association, and Supreme Court Justice
Anthony Kennedy have all called for an end to mandatory minimums
because they constitute unfair practices.

2. Fund treatment. A study by the RAND Corporation found that
treatment is 15 times more effective -- and far cheaper -- than
incarceration in reducing drug abuse and related crime. In
California, voters passed Prop. 36 in 2000, diverting people arrested
for first- and second-time simple drug possession into
community-based treatment, not prison. A recent UCLA study found that
Prop. 36 is highly successful. Some 5,000 people a year receive
treatment instead of prison, saving state taxpayers $1.3 billion.

3 Enact sentencing reform. The Rockefeller Drug Laws are draconian
because the sentences are so inhumane. We need further sentencing
reform, including reform of the Second Felony Offender Act, and an
increased use of alternatives to incarceration. Eight to 20 years for
a first-time, nonviolent offense is what we'd expect from a
dictatorship, not a democracy.

4. Apply retroactivity. Sentencing reforms should apply retroactively
to the more than 14,000 people currently incarcerated because of these laws.

5. Focus on re-entry. Tie these reforms together with a comprehensive
re-entry plan, providing wrap-around services such as drug treatment
and job training for people returning to our communities from prison.
Help them become productive, taxpaying citizens instead of being a
prison number.

By doing all this, Spitzer can ensure that people with addictions
receive treatment instead of a jail cell; he can save taxpayer
dollars while improving public safety; and he can help end the
institutional racism in our criminal justice system. New Yorkers will
be watching to make sure Spitzer holds true to his campaign promises.
Anything less will not be real reform.