DRUG LAW REFORM IN WORKS

A new bill in the state legislature may amend New York drug laws to
make it easier for drug offenders to receive treatment instead of
prison sentences.

The bill to reform the Rockefeller drug laws, named for former
governor Nelson Rockefeller who enacted the laws in 1973, passed in
the New York State Assembly last Wednesday by a vote of 96 to 46.

Current laws require mandatory prison sentences for the sale and
possession of illegal drugs depending on the weight of the drugs
involved. Medical treatment for offenders is granted only with the
prosecutor's consent.

The new measure allows judges to decide whether offenders should
receive medical treatment services. This decision can be made
without requiring a prosecutor's approval. Additionally, the bill
allows treatment for those already serving sentences and creates
medical assistance services upon release.

According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, 90 percent of those
incarcerated for drug-related crimes are African-American or Latino.
But NYCLU says drug use is equal among minorities and whites.

"Powerful lobbyists too long have believed that long prison
sentences result in safer communities," NYCLU Public Policy Counsel
Corinne Carey said. "That's not the case."

Dennis Smith, associate professor of public policy at Wagner, is
also happy with the new bill.

"This is a reform that's been a long time coming," Smith said.

Smith said the changes were slow because "the notion of treatment is
sometimes viewed as soft, and nobody wants to seem soft on crime."
But, he said, "the people pushing this bill don't think it's soft;
it's just smart."

Carey noted that the bill still leaves room for much more reform.

"The sentencing grid should be lessened," Carey said. "We
incarcerate people for far too long. The bill doesn't touch that at all."

The bill has been introduced in the Senate, which still has yet to vote on it.