Louis Freeh Against Mandatory minimums

Via Corrections Sentencing:

Sense and courage in one day not once but twice??? If Louis Freeh says what we've been saying here over and over, does that mean we're ready to run the FBI? Try this out: "Louis J. Freeh, the nation's former top cop and a self-described 'law enforcement guy,' is leading an effort in Delaware to repeal state laws that require minimum prison terms for convicted drug offenders. . . . Freeh said he got involved with SURJ based, in part, on his experience as a federal judge. He recalled having to sentence 20-year-old offenders who were drug users -- but not dealers -- to nearly two years in prison. 'And they will come out hardened' by the prison system, Freeh said. . . . 'Drugs are cheaper, purer and more available than ever before, and America's prison population has tripled to more than 2.1 million,' Freeh wrote. In Delaware, the prison and jail population has more than quadrupled in the last 25 years, Freeh wrote. The cost to support the rising prison population has soared to more than $200 million a year. "Still, drug use has not declined and our communities are not safer,' Freeh wrote." And here, Bill Richardson has signed NM's approval of its new med marijuana law, despite displeasure and threats from the usual suspects. Why? "'It's a humane piece of legislation. It does not mean I support legalizing marijuana,' Richardson said. 'It means that we are alleviating suffering, ... and I must tell you, I was overcome by the personal stories of pain and the personal appeals I got.' The governor said he had heard from law enforcement agencies unhappy with the new law, and he acknowledged it might be unpopular with others as well. 'So be it,' he said." Realism creeping in despite ourselves.

Again, this does not imply approval of general drug use. Here's yet another reason why: "Young people who abuse cocaine and amphetamines are at heightened risk for suffering a stroke, a study published Monday confirms. Cocaine, amphetamines, and other stimulants may boost the risk of stroke by raising blood pressure or by triggering spasms in blood vessel walls."