Opposed to decriminalizing state drug laws

Watertown Daily Times (NY)
Thursday, March 1, 2001


To The Editor:

In the past number of months several letters by persons opposed to the War on Drugs have indicated the war to be a failure.  All seek drastic change in our nation's and state's drug laws.

Their argument has now gathered momentum because Governor Pataki Has proposed changes to our State Drug Laws.  The argument goes that our state prisons are full of convicted drug offenders who are there either because it is only their first offense or that they simply do not "deserve" to be in prison.

There are may sides to failure, and to success, for that matter.  Governor Pataki's proposals are unwarranted and an unwise exercise of the Executive's obligation to propose just and meaningful legislation for all citizens of the State of New York.

The fact is that the convicted drug offenders serving prison sentences in our state prisons are there because they have "earned" their way in.  Those felons imprisoned as a result of their first and only conviction are there because of two reasons.

First, the facts of their particular cases indicated they were heavily involved in illegal drug trafficking.  Second, their possession offense was of such a significant an amount that prison was the only alternative available to stem the tide of damage to society that would have been caused by the distribution of the illegal drug, which they possessed.

The truth is, that if the convicted drug felons in our state ( not just in our state prisons ) were held to the highest offense they were alleged to have committed, our state prison population would easily double.  New York State still works on a theory of rehabilitative justice.  Those convicted drug felons serving prison sentences are there because efforts at rehabilitation have failed, leaving us only with the option of prison to protect us from them.

Drug offenses in New York State cannot and must not be viewed as a problem in and of itself.  Drug offenders are almost always involved in other crimes besides drug offenses.

Violent crime is a direct and natural result of illegal drug possession and selling.  Illegal drug users commit crimes of violence and theft to support their habit.  Illegal drug sellers use violence as a means of enforcement to protect their business territory, to collect their illegal debts and intimidate witnesses into not testifying against them.

What about our youth? It is the 16 to 25-year-old male age group that I deal with on a most consistent basis.  They commit burglaries, forgeries and larcenies, not for the money to make a living, but for the means to buy illegal drugs.

Legalization or even decriminalizing drugs will not stop them from committing the crimes which provide them with the funds to pay for their habit.  That's just one small piece of the issue of drugs and our youth.  I'm sure I need not delve any farther.

I will join the other 61 District Attorneys of our State and oppose any proposal by Governor Pataki or our State Legislature to decriminalize the drug laws.

Jerome J.  Richards ST.  Lawrence Co.  District Attorney Canton, NY