FIGHTING DRUGS

Robert Gangi's article "Pataki Must Bring Real Drug Law Reform"
[Viewpoints, Feb. 26] contains the usual misstatements that seem to
prevent any attempt at a reasoned debate over reform of the
Rockefeller Drug Laws.

Gangi writes that New York's prosecutors have "aggressively opposed
any [reform] proposal, even those modest in scape." In reality, many
prosecutors, including myself, have repeatedly stated that we could
support measures that address the small number of cases wherein
reform is warranted. But having seen crime rates tumble and
neighborhoods grow safer because of a tough combination of anti-drug
strategies, which include both treatment and incarceration, we also
think that some caution is in order.

What is particularly troubling is the way in which many "reform"
advocates - and some editorial boards - simply ignore inconvenient
facts that get in the way of their assumptions. Just a few such
facts: Prosecutors send thousands of drug offenders to treatment, not
incarceration. In the Bronx alone, we did this in 2,600 cases in the
last two years. The overwhelming majority of those who are now
imprisoned for drug offenses are drug dealers, not drug possessors,
many of whom have long criminal records. Drug dealing is intimately
associated with such evils as turf wars and the intimidation of
entire neighborhoods. Gangi, who also raises the specter of racial
bias, notes none of these factors. He also fails to admit that our
minority neighborhoods will bear the primary risks of a flawed change.

It would be refreshing to see some real discussion of an issue that
is more complex than many would like to believe.

Robert T. Johnson