Prosecutors seek elimination of mandatory prison for some drug offenders

[lfairban]

Ohio's county prosecutors are recommending major changes to state drug laws, including the elimination of mandatory prison sentences for trafficking and possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, except in the most serious cases.

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If approved, the changes would ratchet back some "tough-on-crime" laws enacted in the 1980s and 1990s.

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"We do support a lot of mandatory penalties that deal with violence. But for crimes like drug trafficking, we have some reservation about whether there should be a mandatory prison sentence. It's still a crime. It still has a presumption for prison.

From the Columbus Dispatch via NORML