Drug Czar Assails State’s Narcotics Laws as Too Weak

Federal drug czar William J. Bennett lectured California legislators Monday, criticizing their anti-drug legislation as too weak and deserving of no better than a C-minus on the narcotics-fighting grade scale.

“When is the Legislature going to act for the people and govern in a sensible way?” Bennett asked at a Capitol press conference during a one-day visit to Sacramento. “The Legislature has failed its responsibility for passing tough laws. Republicans and some Democrats want to get tough laws through, but they’ve been blocked.”

Earlier, in a speech to the Senate, the director of the federal Office of Drug Control Policy said that the most important thing the state can do is to increase the penalties for drug offenders.

“State sentences for drug crimes are much more lenient than federal sentences,” Bennett said. “California has not met its responsibility to enact tough sentencing laws. Thirty-five states have tougher sentencing laws--and no state has more reason for a tough law than California.”

Bennett said California ought to get tougher on users as well as traffickers. He said the state should revoke the professional and driver’s licenses of convicted drug users and encourage private companies contracting with the state to begin drug-testing their employees.

He suggested also that the Legislature recriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. “The law is far too lenient. Most people get started on hard drugs through marijuana,” he said.

Democrats reacted with skepticism. “There have been a number of laws already passed to increase the penalties on drug traffickers,” said Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), chairman of the Judiciary Committee. “But I’m not willing to assume that whatever the federal law is we should adopt it.

“I would estimate that Bennett’s recommendations would cost about $5 billion,” Lockyer said. “I want to ask which tax he wants to raise to pay for that.”

Reporters also asked Bennett how the state could afford to implement his program at a time when California prisons are filled to 175% of capacity and the state faces a $3.6-billion budget deficit.

He replied that the federal government, which has more than doubled its spending on anti-drug programs in California, would help pay for the increased law enforcement costs. He also suggested that the state could pay for some of the programs by stepping up efforts to seize the assets of convicted drug dealers. But he added that the Legislature would have to “readjust your spending” to construct more prisons.

During his speech, Bennett praised some California anti-drug programs, such as a recent law that regulates the sale of chemicals that could be used to manufacture drugs. He also singled out for praise Los Angeles’ DARE program, which sends police officers into schools to warn students about the dangers of drug use.

But Bennett said California was not doing enough to combat drugs. He blamed this failure on “the obvious resistance from a number of legislators” and such liberal lobbying groups as the American Civil Liberties Union.