Jackson Free Press

The folks at Reason Magazine have pointed out that Obama's pick for Attorney General has held much harsher views on drug sentencing than the president-elect.

Obama has criticized long sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, including this call for reform from a 2007 speech:

Someone once said that '...long minimum sentences for first-time users may not be the best way to occupy jail space and/or heal people from their disease.' That someone was George W. Bush - six years ago. I don't say this very often, but I agree with the president. The difference is, he hasn't done anything about it. When I'm president, I will. We will review these sentences to see where we can be smarter on crime and reduce the blind and counterproductive warehousing of non-violent offenders. And we will give first-time, non-violent drug offenders a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior. So let's reform this system.

But as Reason points out, Holder was a staunch drug warrior as U.S. Attorney for D.C. during the Clinton Administration. He advocated lengthening the minimum jail sentence for drug dealers and wanted to "make the penalty for distribution and possession with intent to distribute marijuana a felony, punishable with up to a five-year sentence."

The "War on Drugs" received almost no attention during the presidential campaign. Will Obama have the time (and political capital) to deliver meaningful change on drug policy?

Via Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Previous Comments

ID

140921

Comment

Argh. I would like to see an intelligent dialogue on the drug war begin nationally, instead of more of the same useless rhetoric and strategies that seem to make the country more dangerous, not less.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-11-21T13:12:01-06:00

ID

140922

Comment

From the way I'm reading this, doesn't it seem that Obama and Holder are talking about two different things? Obama is quoted talking about first-time users and offenders and Holder appears to be focusing on *dealers.* Personally, I think marijuana should be de-criminalized, regulated and taxed. We spend entirely too much effort jailing people for what may not be a "victim-less" crime, but whose distinction from alcohol and tobacco -- particularly in terms of its affect on society -- is completely overblown. Harder drugs would need much more care in decriminalizing and regulation (perhaps with continued harsh penalties for dealing) but philosophically I feel like the we need to end the war, stand-down the troops, close up the private prisons and stop the profiteering that comes from high-scale interdiction and behavior management.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2008-11-21T15:23:20-06:00

ID

140923

Comment

You're right, Todd, that the quotes I picked are addressing different aspects. But I think Holder did favor a stricter approach to marijuana users too. Those Reason blog posts cited a WashPost article in which Holder was calling for "stiffer penalties for the sale and use of marijuana" in DC. I agree with you about needing to end the war. Perhaps the "intelligent dialogue" could begin with our president and AG?

Author

Ward Schaefer

Date

2008-11-21T15:56:57-06:00

ID

140932

Comment

As with other appointees, it does not surprise me that Obama and Holder are in disagreement on issues. Obama seems to be pulling in people with extensive experience in the areas he is tapping them for regardless of their affinity for his particular preferences of action. It brings me peace to keep in mind that Obama is the one at the helm and his philosophy i generally agree with. i saw a video of Obama during his Senate campaign at a college. He was asked about decriminalizing marijuana by a student holding a video camera as he walked through the crowd. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then turned to the man next to him and counciled briefly. He turned back to his questioner and said that it was an issue for the Federal courts to decide. Apparently this has been an issue that his campaign was not comfortable discussing. According to a Washington Times article, Obama raised his hand during a Presidential debate to say he opposed decriminalization despite statements to the contrary during a 2004 Senate debate. When questioned, his campaign said that he had "always" supported decriminalization - then the next day they reversed that statement. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jan/31/obama-decriminalize-pot/ i think this will be a second term issue. Perhaps even an end of the second term issue. There is hope though, Barney Frank told Bill Maher back in March that he had legislation to introduce which would decriminalize. Chris Dodd is also on record in favor of such legislation.

Author

daniel johnson

Date

2008-11-21T20:23:15-06:00

ID

140936

Comment

Well ~ this is column is a bit disturbing. Obama's pick for Drug Czar may be Jim Ramstad who is against needle exchange and supports federal prosecution of medical marijuana users and providers. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maia-szalavitz/obama-drug-czar-pick-no-r_b_145461.html

Author

daniel johnson

Date

2008-11-22T00:40:53-06:00

ID

140942

Comment

I am with you all (dj, itodd). This is a disturbing trend. Prison is not the answer for users of small amounts of marijuana. We need to focus the nation's resources on imprisoning only those who are a threat to society, rehabilitation and jobs. I hope it is a policital manuever in that he cannot be seen as carrying the load to decriminalize and that he will not block initiatives that come from others.

Author

FreeClif

Date

2008-11-23T12:20:17-06:00

ID

140943

Comment

i think it is obvious that Obama once held the belief that imprisoning non-violent marijuana users is counterproductive to our nation. i also think there is a better argument to be made that he put that belief under wraps for political expediency than that he actually changed his mind.

Author

daniel johnson

Date

2008-11-23T12:45:25-06:00