There is no question that Cameron Douglas has a very significant and very serious problem ~ but there is also no question in my mind that our drug laws are "iffy", at best ~ while every case is different and some obviously offer more in the way of plea-bargaining results, I have a significant problem with some of the plea-bargaining tactics used/practiced regularly ~ personally, I'd be okay with sentencing most users to rehab and X amount of community service time ~ Sooz


AlterNet / By Anthony Papa

First of all, we need to attack and abolish most of the federal drug laws.  These carry the harshest minmum sentences and unless someone is running an interstate drug enterprise they do not belong in federal court.  Second, each state's laws need to be looked and revised to reflect the differences between a drug user/ sharer, and a dealer profiting from a criminal enterprise.  In Maryland, the definition of distribution covers two people smoking a joint together.  The second offense results in a mandatory 10 year sentence.  What a waste of taxpayers' money to keep someone like that in jail for 10 years.

On the bright side, most states have implemented problem solving court models, often referred to as drug courts  These models combine treatment with close judicial oversight and sanctions and incentives for negative and positive behaviors.  The federal Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provide grant money for these programs. I know our # 1 job here is to save the taxpayers money, reudce crime through drug treatment, and keep people out of the detention center which costs approximately $80/day per inmate.

Not a problem here.  The system is overcrowded and the money for expansion has been cut out of the budget repeatedly.  They are opening the doors early for nearly everyone.  They are begging us to keep people out.