New Kentucky Drug Law: Common Sense or Mistake?

This spring, when Governor Beshear signed HB 463 into law, it was a case of love/hate. Opponents decried the reduced sentences for minor drug violations. Supporters pointed at the estimated $147 million in savings (over 10 years). Now it’s in effect, so we’ll see. (Full text of the law.)

The law is a reflection of a growing realization that stricter enforcement doesn’t seem to be working. We get more people in prison, and they stay there longer, but the problems with illegal drugs just don’t seem to be getting any better. And prison is an expensive proposition. As Tom Handy, a former Commonwealth Attorney (quoted in the Times Union) said, “We cannot arrest our way out of this problem.”

So the new law lessens penalties and focuses on treatment and parole. The idea is to filter out those who can be saved and keep the prison sentences for those who cannot. It’s a recognition of the social damage that strict drug laws do. Not only does the offender suffer (perhaps rightly) but their family does as well. It’s that cycle of losing a family when a parent goes to prison that links one generation of drug dealing and use to the next. About half of the reduction in costs will go to fund treatment programs. The $147 million is what’s left over after that.

For those who are take a more hard-line position, there were no changes to the sentencing at the higher scales of offenses. Police mention that harsh penalties for smaller offenses allows them to flip those they catch into informants – in order to escape serious punishment. Without the stick, the carrot isn’t going to do the job, they claim. Prosecutors also expect to lose some of their power to negotiate by offering a reduced charge or sentence for cooperation.

All of the details haven’t been worked out yet. Courts are complaining that they don’t yet have clear guidance or the ability to sentence to programs that don’t yet exist. For now, the criminals are taking advantage of the law. Failure to appear warrants are up by 50% in the two months since the law went into effect.