Gov. Brown to Decide on Bills to Ease Drug Sentences

By Robin Simmonds

Two bills that would change sentences for drug-related crimes were approved by a slim majority in the state Senate Thursday and are on their way to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

If signed, the measures would mark a victory for opponents of the war on drugs, who argue that criminal penalties for narcotics-related offenses fill prisons with people who shouldn’t be there and unfairly target minorities.

SB1010, sponsored by state Sen. Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) would even out penalties for powder and crack cocaine trafficking. AB2492, by another Los Angeles Democrat, Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, would go further and eliminate the mandatory 90-day jail sentence for people using or under the influence of certain controlled substances.

SB1010 addresses the difference in state law between dealing crack cocaine and dealing cocaine in its powdered form: If you're convicted of possessing crack for sale, you face a sentence of up to five years in county jail. If you're found guilty of having powdered cocaine for sale, the top sentence is four years. The disparity doesn’t make any sense to Margaret Dooly-Sammuli of California’s ACLU, which made Mitchell’s measure a top priority this year.

“If you use one form -- a more expensive form of the drug -- you actually pay a lower penalty than if you use another form of the same drug that’s less expensive,” she said.

What’s more, the bill’s supporters say that disparity ends up targeting low-income and minority communities. This is because crack cocaine is cheaper than powder, they say, and more prevalent in urban communities.

Over a recent five-year stretch, California prisons housed about 40 times more African-Americans convicted for the sale of crack cocaine than white offenders. That’s according to Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation statistics cited by Mitchell’s office.

The measure received wide support from dozens of groups. Its most vocal opponent was the California Police Chiefs Association, which opposed lowering a penalty for drug use. As an alternative, the group suggested raising the penalties for powder cocaine trafficking. They argued that the harm done to individuals, families and neighborhoods by the cocaine market is “severe."

While SB1010 deals with penalties for would-be drug dealers, AB2492 focuses on penalties for drug use. Jones-Sawyer (D-South Los Angeles) and other supporters of the measure questioned the effectiveness of mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession. They argued that treatment is a much more effective way to fight against drug use, especially for first-time offenders.

“Judicial discretion when it comes to these kinds of sentences is much more effective. We get more return on our investment of taxayer dollars when we use it wisely, as opposed to blindly following mandatory minimum sentences,” said San Francisco Democratic Sen. Mark Leno before Thursday’s Senate vote.

At the end of the day, both bills passed with the minimum 21 votes.