REAGAN'S DRUG LEGACY

Stewart MacMillian limited the radical conservatism of the Reagan
legacy to union busting and the "some how" legality of bribes
(corporate political donations) in his July 6 letter.

During the Reagan presidency some of the most prohibitive drug control
laws ever were passed. Mandatory minimum drug sentencing was passed in
1986. Prison time is determined by the weight of the drugs involved in
the offense. Parole was abolished and prisoners must serve 85 percent
of their sentence.

The only way to receive a more lenient sentence is to act as an
informant against others. The guidelines in effect stripped Article
III of judges sentencing discretion and turned it over to
prosecutors.

In honor of his wife Nancy, President Reagan signed The Anti-Drug
Abuse Act of 1988: This law established a federal death penalty for
drug kingpins.

Was the law used on a major cocaine or heroin dealer? No. It was used
on a cannabis grower in rural, northeast Alabama who fortunately had
his sentence commuted to life by Clinton.

The famous "just say no" campaign against drugs was indoctrinated. We
can judge its success by the present-day drug raids and drug testing
in our schools. Reagan used marijuana to symbolize the weakness and
permissiveness of a liberal society.

A public health approach to drug control was replaced by an emphasis
on law enforcement. That essentially opened the door to astronomical
law enforcement budgets that have had no impact on stopping drugs.

Larry Seguin

Lisbon