Reduce sentencing disparity for crack, but not retroactively
Q: The US Sentencing Commission recently limited the disparity in sentencing guidelines for those convicted of crimes involving crack cocaine versus crimes involving powder cocaine. Should that change be retroactive?
A: I believe we've got to decrease
the disparity that exists. It is really unconscionable that someone who uses five grams of crack cocaine, compared to 500 grams of powder cocaine would face such disparate sentencing. And it's further compounded because the possession of crack cocaine
really is unique in the way that it leads directly to prison for so many people. So I am going to tackle the disparity. I think it definitely needs to be prospective on principle. I have problems with retroactivity. I think that it's something that a lot
of communities will be concerned about as well, so let's tackle this disparity, let's take it on. The sentencing commission hasn't come forward yet with its specific recommendation but I'm looking forward to seeing it.
1969: held herself aloof from college drug counterculture
Hillary's faith, or perhaps her personality or seriousness generally, must have been a contributing factor to her staying on the straight and narrow. She called herself "an ethical
Christian," physically aloof from the counterculture. Her college friends do not recall her smoking dope, dropping acid, drinking to excess, or tearing off her clothes during concerts.
She did not imbibe the hedonism and drug culture of the period; she did not drop out.
She at one time painted a flower on her arm and wore tie-dye clothes, and as surviving photos attest, looked like a girl of the sixties, but was no Janis Joplin.
Divert non-violent drug offenders away from prison
We need diversion, like drug courts. Non-violent offenders should not be serving hard time in our prisons. They need to be diverted from our prison system. We need to make sure that we do deal with the distinction between crack and powder cocaine.
And ultimately we need an attorney general and a system of justice that truly does treat people equally, and that has not happened under this administration.
Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Jun 28, 2007
Address drug problem with treatment and special drug courts
Q: What is your approach to the “Drug War”?
CLINTON: I have spoken out on my belief that we should have drug courts that would serve as alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system for low-level offenders. If the person comes before the
court, agrees to stay clean, is subjected to drug tests once a week, they are diverted from the criminal justice system. We need more treatment. It is unfair to urge people to get rid of their addiction and not have the treatment facilities when people
finally makes up their minds to get treatment.
LAZIO: The truth is that under the Clinton administration, there has been a dramatic and troubling increase in drug abuse by our children. And that has not been addressed. I crossed party lines in 1994
and built a coalition of Republicans that passed the crime bill. If it were not for that, we would not have drug courts right now. We would not have community policing. We need to have somebody in Washington who has the ability to get the job done.
Involved parents most influential in reducing teen drug use
Some factors that increase the risk of substance abuse in adolescents deserve emphasis. Casual attitudes towards marijuana and minors' access to cigarettes raise the likelihood that teenagers will make a sad progression to more serious drug use
& earlier sexual activity. Dropping out of school puts the child at greater risk, as does having a parent who is an abuser of alcohol or drugs.
One reason my husband is adamant about curbing smoking is the fact that he learned firsthand in his own
family, about the slippery slope that begins with the use of one addictive substance and leads to other destructive behaviors.
The characteristics that keep kids from using drugs are hard to quantify but not to understand. Children who truly grasp tha
they have a choice to make in the matter are more likely to make a responsible one. So are children with high self-esteem. Most influential of all is the optimism & awareness that comes from knowing their parents are interested & involved in their lives.
Require chemical resellers to certify against meth use.
Clinton co-sponsored requiring chemical resellers to certify against meth use
Sen. FEINSTEIN: This act is designed to address problems that the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, has identified in the implementation of the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005. The bill that I introduce today would:
clarify that all retailers, including mail order retailers, who sell products that contain chemicals often used to make methamphetamine--like ephedrine, pseudoepedrine and phenylpropanolamine--must self-certify that they have trained their personnel and will comply with the Combat Meth Act's requirements;
require distributors to sell these products only to retailers who have certified that they will comply with the law;
require the DEA to publish the list of all retailers who have filed self-certifications, on the DEA's website;
and clarify that any retailer who negligently fails to file self-certification as required, may be subject to civil fines and penalties.
The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act that we passed last year has been a resounding success. The number of methamphetamine labs in the United States has declined dramatically now that the ingredients used to make methamphetamine are harder to get. Fewer meth labs means more than just less illegal drug production. In 2003, 3,663 children were reported exposed to toxic meth labs nationwide--but so far this year, the number of exposed children is only 319.
This is a common-sense bill, designed to strengthen the implementation of the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act. This bill would create incentives to ensure that the self-certification process of the law is made both effective and enforceable. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
