DRUG-LAW REFORM OFF ROCKY ROAD

Considered reforms when they were passed in 1973, the Rockefeller drug laws
have long been out of date - and ineffective. They are overdue for
revision, but the changes must be done carefully, otherwise they will have
to be reformed themselves in later years. Last week, Gov. Pataki offered a
package that is both humanitarian and tough on crime. It is an excellent
starting point.

Mandatory sentences of 15 years to life in prison for possession of four
ounces - or sale of two ounces - of such drugs as heroin and cocaine are
the most draconian aspect of the Rockefeller-era laws. Reasonable people
agree that these punishments - without any judicial discretion - are too harsh.

State Chief Judge Judith Kaye wants to lower the minimum to five years
behind bars and give judges more leeway in meting out sentences. Pataki
wants to cut the 15-year floor to 8 1/3 years and also would give judges
more discretion.

Both proposals provide benchmarks for the Legislature to negotiate. And
now, the prospect of change is better than ever. The Democratic Assembly
agrees with most of the measures (though it differs on some specifics), and
this time Pataki was wise not to link drug-law reform to other criminal
justice matters, most notably ending parole - a sticking point in the past.

Whatever new standards are set, they must be tough on violent drug felons
and easier on nonviolent offenders; harder on the dealers and easier on the
users. And that is just what Pataki envisions.

As his criminal justice director outlines on the page opposite, Pataki
wants stiff penalties for drug kingpins and for felons whose narcotics
crimes are linked to weapons or violence. But he would leave it up to
judges to decide whether those convicted of simple drug possession should
be sentenced to prison or treatment. Those convicted of dealing also could
be sentenced to treatment, but only with the prosecutor's approval.
Additionally, the governor would allow current inmates to appeal their
sentences.

About 20,000 inmates are in New York prisons for drug-related crimes, some
600 of them sentenced under the strict Rockefeller statutes. Once the
reforms are implemented, about 5,500 fewer inmates will be locked up each
year - but more violent drug felons will be behind bars for longer
stretches. And junkies who desperately need treatment will be able to get it.

That is how it ought to be.

When he first took office, Pataki proposed changing the Rockefeller drug
laws to make them fairer and more effective. But it didn't happen. He was
right then and he is right now.