|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
US: Task Force Urges Reduced Drug Sentences Steve Terrell Santa Fe New Mexican (US) Friday 05 Jan 2001 Pubdate: Fri, 05 Jan 2001 Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM) Website: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/ Author: Steve Terrell TASK FORCE URGES REDUCED DRUG SENTENCES Legalizing small amounts of marijuana, reducing drug-possession charges to a misdemeanor for first and second-time offenders and a greater emphasis on treatment for drug addicts were among the recommendations of a state task force on drug policy unveiled Thursday. "This is only the beginning," said Woody Smith, a retired state district judge from Albuquerque who chairs the task force, which was created in June. Speaking at a press conference in Albuquerque Thursday, Smith said that after he became a judge, "I could tell something was wrong every day I went to court. The policy was failing. More and more people were using drugs, and more and more people were going to prison. We were taxing and spending, and nothing was working." Another member of the advisory group, Albuquerque Mayor Jim Baca, said his city spends about a third of its budget on fighting the war on drugs, "which takes away from other basic services." Said Baca, "The war on drugs is a failure. Anybody who says it's not a failure is not dealing with reality." Group member Angie Vachio, director of Peanut Butter & Jelly, a nonprofit organization that serves high-risk families in New Mexico, said a hidden cost of drug prohibition is children who end up in foster care when their parents are jailed. These children also frequently end up in trouble with the law, she said. However, opponents of drug decriminalization are already lining up to make sure some of the recommendations never come to pass. State Rep. Ron Godbey - - perhaps the state legislature's staunchest foe of liberalizing drug laws - - said any such measures don't stand, "a snowball's chance in Hades." Although he predicted defeat for decriminalization, Godbey, R-Albuquerque, also said he believes national prolegalization groups "are going to spend a lot of money in New Mexico during this next legislative session. You're going to see a lot of television commercials." The advisory group recommended that possessing up to an ounce of marijuana be legal. There would be civil, but no criminal, penalties for smoking marijuana in public places. Under the recommendations, those arrested for drug possession for the first or second time would receive automatic probation and drug treatment. Such offenders would not have a felony on their records. The group recommended that drug-treatment programs be available for anyone seeking them. That would mean such programs would have to be seriously expanded in New Mexico, said state Health Secretary Alex Valdez. Valdez said the state Medicaid program should expand treatment services to comprehensive coverage for substance abuse of all kinds. Medicaid only offers such treatment in some cases involving children and pregnant women. The Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group also recommended: . Allowing the medical use of marijuana for those suffering serious illnesses - such as cancer and AIDS - for which the drug has been proven to alleviate pain. . Expanding the state's needle-exchange program and liberalizing laws governing the sale and possession of hypodermic needles. . Allowing those on methadone-treatment programs to take the heroin substitute in doctors' offices or health clinics. . Expanding the use of Narcan to treat drug overdoses. . Spending more money on "science-based, safety-focused" drug-education and prevention programs in primary and secondary schools - and eliminating programs not meeting those standards. Gov. Gary Johnson - who has become a leading national voice for decriminalizing drugs - is expected today to discuss the panel's findings and perhaps propose specific legislation stemming from the recommendations. Johnson's Public Safety Secretary Nick Bakas, a member of the panel, said drug decriminalization has received mixed reaction from police officers he has talked to. Bakas, a 26-year veteran of the Albuquerque Police Department, said officers "realize they are not going to interdict and arrest our way out of the problem. We can't keep drugs out of a maximum-security prison. How are we going to keep them out of a free society?" But some members of the law-enforcement community said Thursday they cannot go along with the panel's recommendation to legalize small amounts of marijuana or to make drug possession a misdemeanor. Matt Sandoval, district attorney in Las Vegas and president of the state District Attorneys Association, said, "I don't believe that the people of the state of New Mexico are willing to give up and allow the problem to expand greatly." Sandoval said reducing drug penalties "is just reinforcing their behavior." He said marijuana is a "gateway" to harder drugs. Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Beverly Lennen issued a statement that said her department supports the recommendations to expand treatment programs and "harm-reduction" plans, such as the needle-exchange and methadone programs. But, she said, the department does not support decriminalization. "Most violent crimes and/or property crimes are linked to substance abuse and resulting behaviors. This includes homicide, rape, robbery, domestic violence and larceny." Smith said he is not surprised at opposition from police. "There have been decades of indoctrination that arrest and interdiction is the right way," he said. "In a war, the first casualty is the truth."
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!