While improvements to drug policy and the criminal justice
system are certainly needed, we, as a nation, need to remember that both
violent crime and drug use in America have declined significantly over the past
3 decades. One must conclude then that
we have obviously done some things right.
Until legalization advocates initiated well-financed
campaigns to normalize and legalize drugs in the early 1990s, with an emphasis
on the legalization of marijuana under the guise of medicine, we had made
tremendous progress in pushing back against drugs, actually reducing overall
drug use in America by greater than 50%.
Our nation’s drug epidemic peaked when in 1978, according to
the Monitoring the Future report, 10.7%
of 12th graders reported smoking marijuana daily. By 1992, those rates dipped to a low of 1.9%,
an astounding 80% decline. Since the
launch of those pro-drug campaigns, we have slowly been slipping back to the
old mindset of “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.” In 1997, following the passage of
Proposition 215 which legalized marijuana as a so-called medicine in 1996,
daily use of marijuana by 12th graders jumped to 5.8% and in 2012, it
rose again to 6.5%.
Attorney General Holder could do much to help us move in the
direction of further reduction of drug use if he would respect the duties of his
job and enforce our federal marijuana laws in Colorado and Washington where
so-called recreational use of pot is now allowed. He also could take decisive action to stop
the legalization of marijuana under the guise of medicine that is spreading
across the country. Drug prevention and
treatment groups and law enforcement officials have repeatedly and directly asked
for his help on this issue now for almost a year, and he continues to ignore
our pleas while lives are damaged every single day from the abuses of
marijuana.
Some of AG Holder’s recent comments about revamping the
mandatory minimum guidelines are rather confusing because, in reality, people rarely get charged in federal court for simple
possession charges (a misdemeanor). And if they do, it is usually because of
other related charges like firearms, immigration, or a serious criminal
history, and the drug charge has very little to do with the ultimate
sentence. Less than 1% of
offenders are in prison for simple possession and these have typically pled
down from much more serious crimes.
Mandatory minimum guidelines were instituted as a result
of a bi-partisan commission and involved both congressional and judicial
input to, among other things, address inequities in sentencing and
provide national uniformity. They have also been a tremendous leveraging tool
to find and prosecute the “Big Fish” while allowing the small-time drug
peddlers to be diverted to alternative programs.
Eliminating mandatory minimums could actually resurrect the
problems that they were intended to fix in the first place. The fact that
violent crime and drug use in America have been declining should seriously be
considered before we reverse the directions and policies that may be
contributing to these declines.
Regarding Holder’s comments on rehabilitation and releases,
we need a full spectrum approach that includes a working recovery system and a
direct linkage to a job for those in recovery or being released. Just releasing
prisoners is not going to improve anything and can be argued to be a form of
political grandstanding. It may appear to reduce incarceration costs but the
real costs to society will likely go up if we are releasing prisoners that are
going to be back into our neighborhoods to sell drugs and commit crimes to
support their habits or to compensate for their lack of real life ability and
skills to cope with life on the outside.
We need more clarity from Mr. Holder about what his total
plan includes. The devil is always in the details and details are rarely, if
ever, contained in speeches. There is reason for all Americans to be concerned
without a more in-depth policy description.
Drug Free America Foundation urges AG Holder to support drug
courts and other diversion programs that hold drug users accountable while
requiring them to stop using drugs, to support programs to help those
incarcerated return to productive lives free of drugs, and to continue to exact
swift and significant penalties upon drug traffickers that target and endanger
our children. We further call upon Mr.
Holder to uphold his duty to enforce federal marijuana laws in Colorado and
Washington and bring our nation back into compliance with our international
treaty obligations!
Contact information: Lana
Beck, Communications Director
Telephone:
727-828-0211, ext 102 or 727-403-7571
Email:
lbeck@dfaf.org
Website:
www.dfaf.org
