The Failures of Drug Sentencing

You know, every once in a while I read or hear something that gives me this incredibly lonely feeling, like I was given the gift to see through the bull, think logically and have it be incredibly easy for me. I feel like I am this way amongst throngs of people who are not. I feel like the vast majority of people in this world are incapable of seeing any sort of cause/effect relationship and those who can are too busy building rocket ships and hadron colliders to care about American convicts. It's not that I have a superiority complex, it's simply that I think everyone should be able to put two and two together. But apparently, they just can't.

The zones were originally designed “to serve as a geographic deterrent in order to protect children from drug activity [by] identifying specific areas where children gather and driving drug offenders away from them with the threat of an enhanced penalty,” according to the report.

But Massachusetts’ mandatory minimum laws have largely missed the mark, says initiative executive director Peter Wagner. Under the current law, certain drug offenses carry a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in jail if they are committed within an “enhancement zone,” defined as the 1,000-foot area surrounding a school.

According to Wagner, the abundance of Head Start centers, accredited day care centers and other schools leave few areas in cities and towns that are not considered special enforcement zones.

“If you make everywhere special, nowhere is special,” Wagner said.

The result, he argues, is legislation that not only fails to specifically deter the sale of drugs near schools, but also unfairly targets drug users caught possessing narcotics in these zones who are not intent on selling to schoolchildren.

Bay State Banner - Report: Mass. sentencing laws not doing the job

This is inane. There is no other word for it. It is a mental trap, a vacuous spiral of laughable arguments. First, when has any sentence for drug offenses been a deterrent? In any state, at any time in history? When has any punishment for dealing drugs or being in possession of drugs been effective? Do people honestly think that if there was no punishment, little miss goody two shoes would suddenly find herself doubled over in bliss after hitting the crack pipe? No. People who don't do drugs, don't refrain from using because they are afraid of the sentence they might get in prison. People who don't sell drugs, don't refrain from doing so because they are afraid of the time they would do in prison if caught. People don't do drugs because they are afraid of loss of control, because they have nothing to escape from, because they didn't get bored one night with their friends and convince themselves that "just once won't hurt". People sell drugs because they want an easier, faster buck than ten years in university, or because they were born into an atmosphere of drug pushing, or because they feel there are no alternatives for them. People don't sit around mulling over their list of career possibilities with pros and cons lists and under the heading drug dealer - cons, write "could end up facing a long time in prison". No, it is rarely a decision like that. It is generally something people find themselves caught up in without really thinking about it and by then, it's just too late. They are usually very young, in the stages of life during which we *all* did stupid stuff.

We have had tough sentences for drug-related offenses for decades. Has the drug problem gotten any better? No.

Second, dealing drugs near a school doesn't mean they're pushing to kids. And vice-versa, dealing drugs away from a school doesn't mean they're not targeting kids. There is no fool proof way of punishing those who deal to kids worse than those who don't. It's totally arbitrary.

The only thing that will ever work to stem the drug trade, would be to eliminate the need. Help those with drug problems. Help those at risk of developing a drug problem, educate children and teenagers about drugs and their dangers. Keep an open dialogue with them.

But there is one solid fact that will never go away, ever. Drugs are here to stay. There will always be people with drug problems, whether it be heroin or alcohol or valium. There will always be people who need to self-medicate with drugs. the sooner we realize that and stop trying to fight it, the better. We cannot stop it, we can only help. Prison is not even remotely close to being the answer.

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