U.S. LAW SNARES STATE DRUG DEALERS

Montana drug traffickers caught with sizable quantities of
methamphetamine are doing years of hard time with no possibility of
parole in federal prisons. The federal mandatory minimums have come as
a shock to more than one of the drug offenders sentenced in U.S.
District Court in Billings.

It's debatable whether knowing the severity of drug penalties have
deterred anyone from dealing drugs. However, we are assured that
offenders will be off the streets for years, not months, under tough
federal sentencing guidelines.

Furthermore, Montana drug laws generally provide much lighter
sentences than do federal drug laws. The biggest drug cases in Montana
usually are prosecuted in federal court. This practice provides more
severe sentences for more severe crimes, and, according to Billings
Police Chief Ron Tussing, the federal government can pick up some
costs of investigations and lab cleanups for cases prosecuted in the
federal system.

Last week, the Montana House unanimously passed House Bill 402, a
get-tough-on-meth-labs law that doubles the maximum penalties for
operating an illegal clandestine drug lab, but no minimum sentence is
set. Last year, 35 people were convicted under the current lab law, on
average receiving sentences 10.3 years with 5.7 suspended, meaning
that they could be paroled in two years -- sooner if they had already
served some time in the county jail.

Last year, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency cleaned up 122 meth
labs in Montana at a cost to U.S. taxpayers of over $1 million.

Most Montana inmates aren't incarcerated for drug offenses, but the
vast majority are addicted to drugs. They get convicted of violent
crimes committed while under the influence of drugs and crimes, such
as theft, burglary and forgery, committed to support their habits.

Montana law enforcement must keep working with federal authorities to
get drug traffickers off the street.

And if Montana is ever going to get its prison population under
control, the state is going to have to make drug treatment a priority
- -- behind bars and in the community. Research shows that every dollar
spent on treatment saves several dollars in corrections and other
social costs.

This week, The Gazette has published "No Second Chances," a special
report by Lorna Thackeray, to raise awareness of federal drug laws.
The community should know the price of drug dealing, both for the
offenders and for society.

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SERIES INDEX:

Hard Time http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n262.a04.html

No 2nd Chances With Drug Crimes http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n250.a11.html

It's The Law http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n258.a02.html

Prison Means Marking Time for Family, Too http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n263.a05.html

Paying the Price http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n265.a04.html

Partners in Crime http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n270.a03.html

Some Caught in Conspiracy Talk to Avoid Long Sentences http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n271.a02.html

Montana Project Tells Students About Drug Penalites http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n277.a02.html

Sometimes, State Charges Can Be a Wake-Up Call http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n277.a03.html

Editorial: U.S. Law Snares State Drug Dealers http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n277.a04.html