TALKS RESUME ON ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAWS

Legislature Could End Before Pact is Made

ALBANY -- A New York City hip-hop mogul and a handful of celebrities
revived talks this week over softening the state's drug laws, but with less
than two weeks remaining in the legislative session, it's uncertain whether
a compromise will be reached.

Reform supporters hope Assembly Democrats and Gov. George Pataki can cut a
deal before the end of the legislative session June 19. The head of the
powerful prosecutors' association, though, says the two sides are still far
apart.

"I still think it's a long shot, but I think we're a little closer," said
Deborah Small of the Drug Policy Alliance, a New York City-based group
pushing a compromise plan in the recent round of talks. "We've been able to
reach a conceptual agreement on some issues." James Vargason, president of
the state District Attorneys Association, saw it differently. "I think
they're miles apart," Vargason, Cayuga County's district attorney, said.

Longtime Coming

Reforming the laws, passed in 1973 under former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller,
has been a hot topic in Albany for the past four years. Pataki has made it
a goal in many of his State of the State addresses.

The laws require judges to impose minimum prison sentences, some lengthy
ones, for many drug crimes. Both Pataki and the Democrats want to end life
sentences for drug crimes and make more offenders eligible for drug treatment.

"The issue always comes down to what amount of change can accomplish those
goals," Vargason said. "I believe that some people on that side have as an
ultimate goal the legalization of narcotics," he said, referring to
Assembly Democrats and reform groups.

One difference: Democrats would allow judges to decide whether offenders go
to treatment, while Pataki wants to maintain a strong role for prosecutors.

The talks began when hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons secured a meeting with
Pataki and left with an agreement to move toward a compromise with Democrats.

Talks then seemed to stall. Democrats blamed Pataki, saying his aides
backed off. They resumed, but it wasn't clear how much progress negotiators
made. Some accused Pataki of not being serious about reaching an agreement.

"Some people are saying he may be lying -- he may not want reform. I think
that's a little harsh. He wants reform on his terms," said Gerald Benjamin,
a dean at the State University of New York at New Paltz.