a public defender

Folks, don’t ever again say I don’t call things. I called this.

Finally, it seems that legislators might be getting “smart” on drugs and drug crimes. And no, the impetus isn’t a wake up call on the inherent unfairness of the drug crimes and the racially disproportionate impact they have. It’s the economy, stupid.

Sen. Toni Harp, chairwoman of the powerful appropriations committee, and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney hope economics will succeed where other arguments have failed in convincing their colleagues that the costs of prosecuting and punishing pot smokers is an expense Connecticut can no longer afford.

“We’ve got to take a strong look at what we want to pay for as a state,” said Harp, D- New Haven, who with Looney is co-sponsoring a bill that would punish low-level marijuana users with a fine, not a criminal charge.

“To waste our resources on this small problem is not a good use of the people’s money.”

Now, they’re not going as far as I would go, so simmer down (and you know who you are). The proposed bill would decriminalize possession of less than one ounce of marijuana – essentially what Massachussetts did this past November. People found using that small an amount would be fined: akin to a parking ticket.

There’s a twofold benefit to this: not only do we save the money from the prosecutions, convictions, programs and – of course – incarcerations, but also generate revenue for the State from the fines. A Harvard study estimated that MA spent $30 million a year on low-level drug enforcement and that is certainly money that can be saved and spent elsewhere.

But what’s really making me shine my mutton chops in this story is that the bill also proposes reducing the “w/in X feet of a school” zone. That means no longer will the entire city of New Haven subject a drug seller to an extra penalty.

Connecticut legislators also will consider a measure that would reduce the size of drug-free school zones. Under state law, any drug activity is subject to harsher criminal penalties if it takes place within 1,500 feet of a school, housing project or day-care center. Critics say such laws unfairly discriminate against residents of cities and densely populated suburbs.

Indeed. Take a look at the map in this post. I’d obviously like them to go further and eliminate the whole silly statute (see the map post). It clearly isn’t working as a deterrent and does nothing but punish those that live and “work” in the city of New Haven (or other large cities).

While the legislators are considering this bill, perhaps they should spend some time looking through the General Statutes and start eliminating some other crimes that are redundant and duplicative (*cough*home invasion*cough*).

While that may be a pipe dream, the decriminalization of small amounts of pot may not be. Obviously, the big battle lies ahead, with the bill needing to actually make it out of committee and onto the floor of the legislature for a vote. But there is hope. And that’s something we could all use these days.

*FATWOD: Fight Against The War On Drugs