D.A.'S, POLICE OPPOSE BALLOT REFORMS OF DRUG ASSET/TREATMENT LAWS

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, April 25, 2000 - Ballot question activists today
claimed reforming the state's drug laws to encourage and finance treatment
is a matter of "fairness" and civil liberty, but prosecutors and police
argued the proposal would gut their ability to fight crime.

At question: an initiative petition (H 4976) on its way to the November
ballot that would change the drug-related forfeiture and sentencing laws.
Last fall, supporters collected 110,000 signatures. Lawmakers have until May
3 to act, after which activists must gather another 9,517 signatures to
place the question before voters statewide.

Before a Health Care Committee hearing on the plan today, activists rallied
on the State House steps. Coalition for Fair Treatment Chairman Deena
Whitfield said current law allows money and property to be seized before an
owner is convicted of an offense.

"This system violates the fundamental principle of innocent until proven
guilty, upon which our judicial system is founded, and threatens the rights
of every citizen in this state," Whitfield said.

The initiative allows certain drug charges to be dismissed on completion of
court-monitored treatment. Eligible person would include those at risk of
becoming addicted, or people charged with first or second offenses of
manufacturing, distributing or dispensing a controlled substance, or
possession with intent to do any of those things, or trafficking up to 28
grams of cocaine.

The petition also creates a state Drug Treatment Trust Fund, to be
administered by the Department of Public Health and used solely to pay for
rehabilitation services. The fund would receive drug-related fines,
forfeited money and proceeds from the sales of property seized in connection
with drug crimes. Police and prosecutors currently split the money.

District attorneys and police officials turned out at the hearing to oppose
the measure. Middlesex DA Martha Coakley said the initiative is "not what it
purports to be." By redirecting drug-related assets from law enforcement
equipment and programs, Coakley said the petition would "severely
eviscerate" government's ability to execute the "war on drugs."

"Although it may not be a wolf in reform clothing, it's certainly not a
sheep," Coakley said. "We believe it is ill-conceived and wrongheaded at
best."

Public Safety Committee Co-chairman Sen. James Jajuga (D-Methuen) - a
21-year State Police trooper who spent 19 years in the drug unit -
"adamantly opposed" the petition. He said investigators need money to
arrange drug buys and rent undercover cars.

"You can't tool around in a four-door Crown Vic and follow people around -
you have to rent cars on a moment's notice," Jajuga said. "Do not hamstring
the law enforcement community."

Statistics were not immediately available on the amount of money or property
seized during drug-related operations in this state. But Essex District
Attorney Kevin Burke said the revenues have been "steadily declining" over
the last decade. "It's not a bottomless pit," he said.

Initiative proponents say the state's mandatory drug sentencing laws deny
young people a "second chance." They say the petition would allow judges to
rely on "experience" to determine appropriate sanctions. Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts President Clare
Cotton said teenagers don't belong in prison with "hardened criminals."

"Having a criminal conviction destroys a youngster's life, making it almost
impossible for him or her to get a college loan or a job," Cotton said. "The
Fair Treatment Initiative will help many young people to turn their lives
around by completing a court-supervised drug treatment program rather than a
prison term."

Criminal Justice Policy Coalition Executive Director Stephen Saloom cited a
California study that found the cost of treating 150,000 addicts was $209
million, while the reduction in crime and related taxpayer savings totaled
$1.5 billion in the first year. That works out to $7 worth of savings per
tax dollar spent on treatment, Saloom said. He also cited a Rand Corporation
study that found treatment to be at least 10 times more effective than jail
in reducing crime.

The petition also requires records of all state and local forfeiture
activities to be kept and made public, unless it would hamper law
enforcement efforts. Concealing or diverting forfeited money or property
would be punishable by a maximum of a $1,000-fine and/or one year in prison.

"This, we believe, will create accountability," said Massachusetts League of
Women Voters President Nancy Carapezza. "Voters will know exactly how the
money is being used."

Another provision of the petition holds that land, buildings and property
"incidental" to the commission of a drug crime could not be seized unless
the state proved by "clear and convincing evidence" that the money or
property were legally subject to forfeiture.

Other petition signatories include former Norfolk County District Attorney
and current US Rep. William Delahunt and former Attorneys General Scott
Harshbarger, James Shannon and Francis Bellotti. The coalition also includes
the American Civil Liberties Union of Mass., the Black Ministerial Alliance,
the Mass. Homeowners Coalition and the Mass. Human Services Provider
Council.