IT'S PAST TIME TO MODERNIZE DRUG LAWS AND SENTENCING

Delaware's war against illegal drug use long ago ran into the law of
unintended consequences.

Regulations passed in the spirit of fighting crime and curbing public
disorder ended up creating unanticipated problems and imposing
financial and social burdens on taxpayers and large swaths of citizens.

Now a "consensus" bill has been introduced into the state House of
Representatives. It would modernize Delaware's drug laws and
eliminate some of the state's minimum-mandatory sentences.

The primary sponsor, Rep. Melanie George, believes the bill has a
good chance of passing because it is a compromise bill -- compromise
in the good sense of the word.

We hope she is right.

Too many people are in prison or have criminal records for relatively
minor offenses. Families have been burdened, lives ruined and
neighborhoods damaged by clumsy laws.

This bill would give more discretion to the judges in cases where a
judge's ruling makes more sense than an arbitrary standard.

It creates a tiered system of felony offenses that would enable
judges to take circumstances into account.

The bill has been endorsed by a variety of offices and groups,
including the Delaware Police Chiefs Council and the Delaware
Sentencing Accountability Commission. The Attorney

General's Office called it a "bold step forward." We agree and
recommend a close look and action on the bill.