PETITION DRIVE TARGETS DRUG-SENTENCING POLICY

California Group Wants Michigan To Scale Back Mandatory Life Terms

A well-financed, California foundation with a track record of success on
ballot proposals around the country has launched an effort to scale back
Michigan's tough mandatory drug-crime sentences.

A petition drive to amend the Michigan Constitution is to begin this weekend
and is aimed at putting the question before voters in November 2002, said
Dave Fratello, political director for the Campaign for New Drug Policies.

A formal campaign kickoff is expected in January, he said. Fratello
described the initiative as "a complete overhaul of drug policies in
Michigan." It will target the state's drug sentences, which require judges
to impose minimums of up to life without parole.

Eaton County Prosecutor Jeff Sauter, immediate past president of the state
prosecuting attorneys association, said he had not seen specifics, but "if
it's anything like California, it's a bad idea."

The Campaign for New Drug Policies advocates treatment for first- and
second-time low-level drug offenders and more judicial discretion in
sanctions for drug dealers. A similar proposal it backed in California in
2000 won with 61 percent of the vote.

Fratello said the campaign has been involved in 19 proposals -- involving
medical marijuana, drug asset forfeiture and sentencing changes -- since
1996, and that 17 of those were approved by voters.

The campaign is paid for by financier George Soros, education entrepreneur
John Sperling and Ohio businessman Peter Lewis. Fratello declined to
estimate how much would be spent on the Michigan initiative, one of three
state proposals the group is backing in the 2002 election cycle, but he said
the campaign spent $3.5 million in California last year.

Adequate financing virtually guarantees the group will be able to collect
enough signatures, 302,711, to make the ballot, he said.

Sauter, the prosecutor, said many of the attacks on Michigan's current
sentencing guidelines are misguided. Judges and prosecutors already show
significant discretion, he said.

Still, Sauter said: "Prosecutors would be willing to look at any proposal."

Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Davis said fewer than
5,000 of the state's 47,000 prison inmates are serving time for drug crimes,
and the number of first-time offenders is virtually nil.

The Campaign For New Drug Policies Web site can be found at
http://www.drugreform.org.