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| OpEd: Repeal drug laws, cut costs |
| By Newsday |
| Published: 02/08/2008 |
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NEW YORK - New York's elected officials face two critical challenges in the 2008 legislative session: how to close the $4.4-billion deficit confronting the state, and how to break political stalemates and enact significant policy advances. One way they can both save money and show they can govern is to repeal the Rockefeller drug laws. Enacted in 1973, when Nelson Rockefeller was governor, the laws require harsh prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts of drugs. The penalties apply without regard to the circumstances of the offense or the individual's character or background. Whether the person is a first-time or repeat offender, for instance, is irrelevant. The modifications Albany approved in 2004 and '05 did not amount to real reform. While reducing prison terms slightly, the amendments left intact the statutes' harshest provisions and didn't address the serious problems they cause. As of Jan. 1, there were more than 13,400 drug offenders in New York State prisons, the vast majority of whom had no history of dangerous behavior. It cost the state about $1.5 billion to construct the prisons to house drug offenders. And the operating expense for confining them comes to about $500 million per year. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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