Drug Laws
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3. Accurate charges. Charges associated with weight of illegal drugs should be based only on the weight of the drug itself and not on the total mixture of both the drug and carrier.
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Why We Endorse This Position
Long prison sentences do not reduce drug use or crime and are extremely expensive. Quality drug treatment programs have consistently reduced recidivism 36-60%.
Long prison sentences do not reduce drug use or crime and are extremely expensive. Quality drug treatment programs have consistently reduced recidivism 36-60%.
- Ohio’s Cost-Effectiveness Study, for example, confirmed earlier studies and found marked decreases (41%) in criminal arrests after treatment. Accidents, moving violations and DUI arrests also decreased significantly after treatment.
- A Delaware study found that drug offenders who received 12-15 months of treatment in prison followed by 6 months of drug treatment and job training were much more likely to be arrest free (71% compared with only 30% of a comparison group).
- An evaluation of the NY prison-based Therapeutic Community (TC) (known as Stayíng Out) showed that participants had arrest rates of only 26% compared to 40.9% for those having no treatment.
- An evaluation of Oregon’s Therapeutic Community program (known as Cornerstone) showed that 71% of its graduates stayed out of prison for 3 years, while only 26% of the dropouts from the program did so.
- RAND studies found that drug treatment reduces serious crime 15 times more than mandatory minimums and 10 times more than conventional sentences, and is seven times more effective in cutting cocaine demand then local enforcement.