ADVOCATES CALL FOR REVIEW OF SENTENCING GUIDELINES

Group: Drug Offenders Treated More Harshly Than Violent Criminals

Despite Maryland's goal of seeking treatment for low-level drug offenders
instead of the constant cycle of incarceration, criminal justice advocates
are asking for a review of the state's current sentencing guidelines,
saying they encourage longer sentences for drug offenses than for some
violent crimes.

The Campaign for Treatment Not Incarceration found that individuals
currently convicted of a single drug offense in Maryland were treated more
harshly than those convicted of assault, burglary or robbery. The campaign
says as many as 70 percent of those in prison this year for drug-related
offenses have a substance-abuse problem at the root of their conviction.

"[They're] low-level, nonviolent drug offenders selling very small amounts
of drugs to sustain a habit," said Jason Ziedenberg, executive director of
the Justice Policy Institute, a nonprofit public research group that is
part of the campaign.

Ziedenberg said those offenders on parole are often put back in prison for
a violation such as testing positive for drug use or missing a meeting.

"Most people fail treatment the first couple times they go through," he
said. "That's the reality of drug treatment - period."

In his 2003 State of the State address, Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
called for increased treatment and less incarceration for nonviolent drug
offenders.

"We must work together to get nonviolent drug offenders out of jail and
into treatment programs, where they belong," Ehrlich said.

In 2004, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation aimed at the
issue through giving more options to prosecutors, judges and the Parole
Commission. To complete the treatment effort, the campaign recommended
Monday that the State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy examine
reducing the sentencing guidelines used by judges to reduce sentences for
nonviolent drug offenders.

The campaign says this would result in a 1,000-bed reduction in the prison
population and $20 million in corrections savings that could be used for
treatment efforts.

Quick facts:

- - An addict who sells a gram of cocaine to feed his or her habit is subject
to the same recommended sentence as a drug dealer who sells 100 grams for
profit.

- - Drug distribution cases often result in five-year sentences in courts
statewide, comparable to or higher than assault, child abuse, burglary and
arson.

- - On average, 3 percent of drug distribution cases in Maryland involve
violence or weapons convictions.

Source: Campaign for Treatment Not Incarceration