YES, EASE DRUG LAWS

Regarding Sheryl McCarthy's column "Democrats Should Ease the Rockefeller
Laws" \{Viewpoints, May 24\}: As a member of the New York State Senate, I
supported the enactment of the Rockefeller drug laws intended to reduce
illegal drug use and force dealers off the street.

The unhappy conclusion, after the hard experience of the last quarter
century, is that those measures have failed to achieve their goals.

Instead, they have handcuffed our judges, contributed to filling our
prisons to dangerously crowded levels and denied sufficient drug treatment
alternatives to nonviolent addicted offenders.

I am hopeful that drug law reforms can be enacted this year that will
enhance public safety.

Any proposal adopted must allow judges to impose alternative sanctions,
particularly cost-effective drug treatment for nonviolent offenders.

Clearly the public understands that for many drug offenders, imprisonment
is not the best option.

A recent poll demonstrates broad public support for drug law reform.

It is not just a majority of those polled who would be more likely to vote
for a legislator who supports a bill to reduce sentences for some drug
offenders, as McCarthy says. In fact, 51 percent said they would be more
likely to do so. Moreover, 75 percent chose treatment over jail or prison
for those convicted of drug possession, while only 19 percent chose jail
or prison.

Reforming our drug laws is both the right thing to do and the politically
safe thing to do.

John F. Dunne Albany Editor's Note: The writer, a former state senator
from Long Island, is affiliated with the Campaign for Effective Criminal
Justice.