cannabisnews.com: Pataki Official Blasts Bill's Drug Czar!





Pataki Official Blasts Bill's Drug Czar!
Posted by FoM on July 01, 1999 at 06:42:40 PT
By Tracey Tully, Daily News Albany Bureau
Source: New York Daily News
Gov. Pataki's top crime guru squared off yesterday against President Clinton's drug czar, accusing him of "an ignorance" of state law.
The attack came minutes before Barry McCaffrey, head of the nation's drug policy unit, called for more treatment for addicts — not more prison time — in a speech near Albany.Katherine Lapp, the Republican governor's criminal justice director, slammed the retired four-star Army general for suggesting New York's tough drug laws are jamming prisons with nonviolent addicts. Lapp said fewer than 10% of first-time felony drug offenders get prison time.She walked out of the state-sponsored conference on drug-abuse treatment before McCaffrey finished speaking.The flareup comes less than a year after Mayor Giuliani called McCaffrey "a disaster" for advocating that methadone programs be expanded.In a speech distributed to reporters, McCaffrey said New York's Rockefeller-era drug laws "have caused thousands of low-level and first-time offenders to be incarcerated . . . for long sentences that are disproportionate to their crimes."The 26-year-old laws force judges to issue 15-year minimum sentences for the sale of 2 ounces, or possession of 4 ounces, of narcotics.But with Lapp boycotting the speech, McCaffrey ditched his prepared remarks and backed away from commenting directly on the state's drug laws. He also went out of his way to credit Pataki — who McCaffrey said was unable to meet with him yesterday — for "advancing the debate."Pataki has called for minor changes to the drug laws in exchange for an end to parole for all felons. Pataki's plan would allow appeals judges to shave five years off some drug sentences.In comments to reporters, McCaffrey declined to discuss Pataki's proposal, saying he had not studied various reform plans.Pubdate : June 30, 1999Wednesday, June 30,1999Additional Story Below!White House Drug Chief Critical of N.Y. LawsPubdate : June 29, 1999 http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread1824.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 01, 1999 at 06:49:48 PT:
Another Associated Link!
ALBANY Gov. Pataki's top aides yesterday hammered visiting White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey for raising doubts about the effectiveness of the state's get-tough-on-crime policies at a drug conference here.
Gov Aides Smack Prez's Drug Czar! 
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