cannabisnews.com: Our Failing Economy’s a Boon to Drug-Law Reformers Our Failing Economy’s a Boon to Drug-Law Reformers Posted by CN Staff on January 22, 2009 at 08:29:44 PT By Nina Shapiro Source: Seattle Weekly Washington State -- It took two years of political warfare before the state Legislature managed to pass a bill in 2002 that reduced prison sentences for drug offenders by as much as two-thirds, and offered treatment instead of incarceration in some cases. The fight drew media attention as conservative legislators dug in their heels. "I'm not willing to go there," Sen. Pam Roach (R-Auburn) was quoted as saying in The Seattle Times. What a difference a collapsing economy makes.As the legislative session got underway last week, Gov. Christine Gregoire began crafting a bill that would further reduce drug sentences as part of her sweeping cost-cutting plan. Sentences would be cut by 25 percent for virtually all drug crimes, says John Lane, the Governor's public safety policy advisor. Only the most serious, "Level III" offenses (such as involving a minor in drug-dealing) would be untouched. In fiscal 2008, just 95 of nearly 8,000 drug offenses were Level III, according to state figures. Gregoire isn't motivated by a desire to reform our drug laws, says Lane, but rather by sheer economics.So far, the media's barely taken notice of the proposal, lost as it is among all the drastic cuts in the Governor's budget. Nor has there been an outcry in the Legislature, although Sen. Mike Carrell (R-Lakewood) says he'll take a close look at it. Roach declined to be interviewed on the subject, saying through an aide that she's working on other things.Law enforcement groups aren't fighting the move either. "We would just as soon not see these cuts," says Don Pierce, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. "But we understand that given the current crisis, this is the best place to make them."While liberal groups have fought for years for more lenient drug policies, our state's financial woes are helping accomplish what their arguments alone could not. This is true at the county level as well. Faced with a $5 million budget cut to his office, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg in October started kicking felony cases involving less than three grams of narcotics down to District Court, where they are prosecuted as misdemeanors. He says the move affects two-thirds of his caseload.Meanwhile, the King County jail is already nearly full, and the county has said it will no longer have room for misdemeanor prisoners from the cities as of 2012. So Seattle and several suburban cities have started planning to build a new multimillion-dollar jail of their own."That process got people thinking: How big does this new facility really need to be?" says council member Tim Burgess. The city has already reduced its jail population by 40 percent in the past 10 years through various alternatives to incarceration, like electronic monitoring, and through Community Court, which channels low-level offenders into social service programs rather than jail. Burgess says council members started asking whether the jail population could be further reduced using more of the same strategies.Next month, a Council-convened advisory group will begin considering alternatives to incarceration for drug offenders. Among the participants: Satterberg, Seattle Police Department Chief Gil Kerlikowske, City Attorney Tom Carr, The Defender Association's Lisa Daugaard, and State Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland). "People who don't normally think of themselves as having much in common are really starting to come together," Daugaard says.Goodman, for instance, has worked for many years on a project of the King County Bar that advocates drug legalization. That's not a position favored by law enforcement.Still, even the police have put new energy into searching for alternatives to arrest and prosecution."There's been a sea change in attitude," says council member Nick Licata.Capt. Mike Meehan, head of the SPD's narcotics section, calls it more of an "evolution."In the next few months, Meehan says, the department plans to launch a pilot project modeled on a program in High Point, North Carolina. Police there bring young people who could be arrested on drug charges into their precincts. "In one room, all the evidence of the case is presented," Meehan says. A person is told: "We can arrest you—but we don't want to do that." Then that person is led to another room, where police have assembled family, friends, teachers, and community members. Police present a choice: get arrested or straighten up with the help of those in the room. Many choose option B, according to Meehan and studies of the program.This is among the kind of programs that the city might expand, according to Burgess. One move that is not on the table, however, is de facto legalization of hard drugs, along the lines of a 2003 initiative that made marijuana possession the lowest priority of the Seattle police. "If we start talking in those terms," says Burgess, a former cop, "it is going to push the buttons of some people and will really derail the effort."City Attorney Carr's buttons are already slightly indented. "Don't you think we should be driven by best practices and science and not what it costs to build a new jail?" he asks. Like many in law enforcement, he argues that without arrest and jail hanging over people's heads, they don't have the incentive to change their lives. And cops might lose their incentive to arrest people if they know that it doesn't lead to meaningful jail time. He didn't know enough about the Governor's plans to comment on them.Carr declares himself a big believer in treatment for drug users—once they've been arrested. He has been trying to establish something akin to the county's Drug Court on a municipal level. He says he would call it "Treatment Court" and expand it to alcoholics as well as drug users. "The problem is the beds," he says. There aren't enough at existing treatment facilities, and the city doesn't have funds to pay for new ones.That situation is not going to be helped by Gregoire's budget, which cuts $2 million for treatment services offered through drug courts around the state. In King County, fewer people will have access to the services that remain because most will go through District Court rather than Drug Court. "My regret is that I don't have the resources to offer those people treatment," Satterberg says.As regards liberalizing drug laws in favor of health care rather than punishment, we seem to be moving both one step closer and one step further away.Note: Gregoire’s crafting a bill, as part of her sweeping cost-cutting plan, that would further reduce drug sentences.Source: Seattle Weekly (WA)Author: Nina ShapiroPublished: January 21, 2009Copyright: 2009 Seattle WeeklyContact: letters seattleweekly.comWebsite: http://www.seattleweekly.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/UUxq7yvyCannabisNews Justice Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/justice.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #31 posted by Had Enough on January 23, 2009 at 11:23:18 PT Rush I think this is the link you want to get …Closer to the Heart…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C52wsxuZT0Watch and listen to this Bass Player...what a sound…this Rickenbacker bass guitar has it’s own sound.http://www.rickenbacker.com/model.asp?model=4003 [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by FoM on January 23, 2009 at 10:33:28 PT Just a Comment I guess I am a True Blue Odie Colognie. I'm stuck in a Neil Young time warp.Fork in The Road - Neil Younghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7L7XsHKCVs [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by Had Enough on January 23, 2009 at 10:25:14 PT OverwhelmSam I would like to add…along with the excellent lyrics...THAT'S a bass player… [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by Had Enough on January 23, 2009 at 10:05:49 PT Comment #26 OverwhelmSamGood Tune…Thanks…We’ve heard that tune here many times in the past month or so…So have my neighbors:)…But everybody has their windows closed these days…so I can crank it up even more…:) [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by unkat27 on January 23, 2009 at 09:59:02 PT Audit the Prohibitionists! Under the circumstances, I would be highly suspicious of any political prohibitionists unwilling to accept cannabis reforms at this time. They should be scrutinized by the new administration, possibly even audited, because it is altogether very probable that they're making big profits from the present policies. [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 23, 2009 at 06:14:24 PT Oh, I Put a Link to Limelight. I meant to put a link to closer to the heart:"To mold a new reality, closer to the heart."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih6PEhhR4UM [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by FoM on January 23, 2009 at 06:07:10 PT MikeC Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Like A Hurricanehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S6dfuIzEKM [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by FoM on January 23, 2009 at 06:01:11 PT MikeC I like to stay calm since I am so high strung naturally so I listen mostly to mellow music unless it is Neil Young's fired up songs like Rockin in a Free World or Hurricane. Harvest Moon is one of my favorite mellow songs.Neil Young - Harvest Moonhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZw_Hr4X3dE [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by MikeC on January 23, 2009 at 05:46:24 PT FoM... I like pretty much everything but Rap/Hip Hop and really dark heavy metal. Classic Rock and late 60's music are my favorites however. [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by FoM on January 23, 2009 at 05:12:30 PT MikeC I wasn't into music when Rush was popular. I was busy with my family. I really don't know anything about them. I liked a different style of music like CSNY and the earlier Folk music with a message. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by MikeC on January 22, 2009 at 20:42:06 PT Rush The name of the band has nothing to do with drugs. They equated the word "Rush" like a rush you might feel on a roller coaster or doing something very exhilarating.The only drug Rush has ever written a song about is Marijuana in the song "A Passage to Bangkok" [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by Hope on January 22, 2009 at 17:52:29 PT "Best practices"? "Don't you think we should be driven by best practices and science and not what it costs to build a new jail?""Not what it costs to build a new jail"?Scientifically speaking, how is he going to get "gold", i.e., money, to build the jail with, when there is none? Alchemy, maybe? Or just pull the money out of..... thin air? Maybe just print the cash it takes on the office printer? [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 15:39:00 PT OverwhelmSam This song says a lot to my generation.Neil Young - Needle and the Damage Donehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0t0EW6z8a0 [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 15:12:36 PT OverwhelmSam I am from the shooting Meth time and that could be why I didn't like the name. Most of our friends are dead now. I got stuck in my own time warp with music I liked and stayed there. Each 5 years of a persons age can make musical tastes totally different. I'm from the CSNY era.Crosby Stills & Nash - Teach Your Childrenhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6pphVs8bF0***Crosby Stills Nash - A Long Time Gone Woodstock - 1969http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PFCgAhZEO8 [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 22, 2009 at 14:57:23 PT FoM Well, it's okay not to like Rush, the lead singer's voice was kinda high (no pun intended lol), but their music was good and the lyrics were philosophical in nature. You are right, their name refers to the use of needles and what it feels like to mainline speed (pharmaceutical methamphetamines), or at least that was the street knowledge when I grew up. There was a lot of devastation with herion too, sometimes it was just poison being distributed by people who hated drug users. It didn't take long for most people to realize that pharmaceuticals and chemical drugs would seriously screw people up. I don't even think anybody uses needles anymore, or at least not very often.Mission for Obama, enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih6PEhhR4UM&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mwiURyX2B4 [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by The GCW on January 22, 2009 at 14:47:33 PT Being mean and discrimiatory a luxury. The high cost of being mean and discriminatory. It’s a luxury they can not afford but once they can afford it again, they will be mean and discriminate again.Take advantage of the economic situation, take it as far as We can and try to prevent the evil from returning. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by runruff on January 22, 2009 at 12:26:06 PT usgov.duh If they connected a few dots they might discover how cannabis prohibition has contributed to this ecconomic crisis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 11:57:45 PT josephlacerenza I hope Keith brings him back on the show like he said. I know that hard drugs can fuel problems in the world but not Cannabis. Cannabis doesn't need to be International but can solely be grown in the USA. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by josephlacerenza on January 22, 2009 at 11:37:40 PT FoM I saw the same program. I was more amazed that they, NSA, have that much time and money to gather all that we say and do. I'm not afraid. Although, I do remember how they tried to link the casual cannabis user to terrorism. When, for the most part cannabis is produced locally. I know "Joe Marijuana Grower" down the street is just trying to support his family and not buying bombs or guns. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 11:06:07 PT Just a Comment Last night on Keith Olbermann he had a man on that was part of the NSA and said everthing we say is gathered. I want to see change in our marijuana laws.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 10:58:06 PT OverwhelmSam I never liked him because he was so into cocaine. He has a nice voice though. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 10:55:58 PT OverwhelmSam I do know you meant the rock group. I didn't want you to think I was that dumb. I never liked them because I don't like the name Rush and what it brought to my mind when I heard about them years ago. It must be a generational thing I suppose. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 22, 2009 at 10:55:31 PT He Was Born a Pauper to a Pawn I don't care for his politics, but I think I finally understand this song:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMub1_CdOrQ&feature=relatedGeneral society is allowed to have a great life, anyone who is different is left by the sidelines. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 10:52:30 PT OverwhelmSam Rush who? I don't think you mean the talking head Rush. LOL!Seriously about the cartels in Mexico. I don't admire them at all. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 22, 2009 at 10:43:10 PT Hi FoM As long as the US continues drug prohibition, we will have these problems. You have to respect the bravado of the Mexican drug cartels though, "You want a drug war? You got one!" lolI have a treat for you:http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1894875/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 10:23:28 PT OverwhelmSam I don't know what will happen with Mexico or Canada. They do things differently then we do. I read they might bring back the death penalty for some crimes of murder in Mexico. I do hope we free up jail space by not jailing non violent drug offenders. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 22, 2009 at 10:10:21 PT The Economy is NOT the Sole Reason prohibition is going to end. All of the law suits, the end of Mexico and repeated time consumed by debating the issue in legislatures and municipalities across America is helping to bring the prohibition scheme to an end too. The exonomy helps our issue, but it's a sad situation. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 09:48:17 PT Related Article from AlterNet.org A Silver Lining to the Economic Crisis: Less Money for Prisons***By Liliana Segura, AlterNet January 22, 2009As states grapple with record budget deficits, more politicians are looking toward criminal justice reform to cut costs.URL: http://www.alternet.org/rights/121114/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Bodhi on January 22, 2009 at 09:11:22 PT: Ripe Opportunity Washington state residents should seize upon this and press their representatives in the state legislature as well as the governor to go for a decriminalization bill. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 08:55:59 PT Sam I remember a time when becoming a lawyer wasn't a smart profession. They didn't have enough jobs so they became waiters. I'd love to see that day again. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on January 22, 2009 at 08:46:16 PT good news this is a great development. I have to say though it reminds of an old joke:What do you call 500 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean??A good start. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment