DRUG LAWS

To the editor;

Gov. George E. Pataki Office of the Governor State Capitol Albany, NY 12224
518.474.8390

As a taxpayer and voter, I'm writing to urge you to consider long overdue
reform of the Rockefeller drug laws as a means of balancing the state
budget. It is time to bring the curtain down on the institutionalized
cruelty of the Rockefeller drug laws. The penalties apply without regard to
the circumstances of the offense or the individual's character or
background. There is no way to justify sentencing nonviolent low-level drug
offenders to prison terms that are longer than those served by some killers
and rapists. Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders cannot be justified
from either a fiscal or public health perspective. Jail cells and criminal
records do not cure addiction. Non-violent drug offenders are eventually
released, with dismal job prospects due to criminal records. Turning drug
users into unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of $770 million state
tax dollars each year.

Former State Senator John R. Dunne, who served as chairman of the Senate
Committee on Crime and Corrections in 1973, said he regretted his role in
the passage of the Rockefeller laws, which he described as both ineffective
and wasteful.

Reform the marijuana laws in New York. Both you and New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg have admitted using cannabis. Its use didn't send you to
heroin or cocaine! Nor has it effected your intelligence. All the various
teen drug use surveys indicate states that have passed medical marijuana
laws have not seen any increase use. Chasing cannabis users is a senseless
waste of $1.2 billion state tax dollars each year.

Thank you for showing leadership on this issue. Budget cuts should be from
failed social control programs not our educational programs. Put the $1
billion back into school aid.

Larry Seguin , Lisbon