NEW ATTITUDE ON DRUG PUNISHMENT

It is becoming politically easier to support a multidimensional approach to
"the drug problem.'' As such, New York state this year should reform harsh
drug laws from another era -- not to "go soft'' on dealers and crime, but
to expand treatment options for users, and reduce recidivism and the prison
population.

The Legislature should grant more options to judges and expand treatment
programs, as well as so-called "drug courts'' through which low-level
nonviolent defendants get monitored substance-abuse treatment. They are
showing success around the state, including in Yonkers, Mount Vernon and
Haverstraw. Drug courts also are in the works for Mount Kisco, the Town of
Greenburgh and Putnam County.

According to a report out of the state Office of Court Drug Treatment
Programs last year, such alternatives have been "demonstrably effective in
promoting sobriety and reducing recidivism in New York state and throughout
the nation.''

New York state's 1973 drug laws mandate harsh sentencing for the possession
or sale of small amounts of drugs. Defenders, such as the state District
Attorneys Association, insist that the laws, enacted under then-Gov. Nelson
Rockefeller, are potent tools in fighting violent crime, a key reason crime
rates have been reduced statewide.

Critics maintain that the laws target the nonwhite population and are
responsible for filling prisons, at great human and societal expense. The
Correctional Association of New York says that the state spends nearly $700
million per year to confine nonviolent, minor drug offenders. In a recent
White Plains appearance, the association's director called the mandatory
sentencing policy inherently biased. Studies show that the majority of drug
users are non-Hispanic whites, yet 94 percent of the state's drug-offender
prison population is black or Hispanic, Robert Gangi said.

Momentum is building for reform, unusual in an election year -- except that
the issue has taken on new prominence among non-white groups and,
potentially, their voting blocs. For the second consecutive year, Gov.
George Pataki called for changes in the Rockefeller-era laws during his
State of the State address.

For six years, supporters in the Legislature have been pushing for change,
with the Democratic-controlled Assembly wanting more softening of the laws
than the Republican-dominated Senate was been willing to grant. Yet all 211
legislators are up for re-election this year, and compromise is detectable.

Additionally, a new attitude toward the value of treatment was signaled
last week when President Bush pledged support and, importantly, more money
for it nationwide. The Republican president's 2003 budget proposal includes
$19.2 billion in anti-drug spending, a 2 percent increase over last year.
While millions of dollars would be used for prevention and interdiction,
Bush wants to spend $3.8 billion next year on treatment and research, an
increase of 6 percent.

Tellingly, the "Just Say No'' campaign of the 1980s would give way to a new
- -- and more realistic -- motto under the current president: "Please Get
Help.'' During the 2000 campaign, Bush admitted to being a heavy social
drinker in the past; his niece recently checked into drug treatment after
being arrested on charges of illegally trying to obtain prescription drugs.

Bush set a goal of reducing drug use nationally by 25 percent over the next
five years. New York can play a part in meeting it by reforming drug laws
of a previous generation, expanding judicial sentencing and treatment
options. And more federal money would help.