New state legislation introduced on Tuesday by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would end mandatory prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses and give judges the option of sentencing offenders to probation.
Wiener’s Senate Bill 73 seeks to put an end to mass incarceration and the criminalization of addiction, which he says are often issues that disproportionately affect communities of color.
“The war on drugs and mass incarceration are policy and public health failures that hurt so many people,” he said in a statement. “We are living with the consequences of bad, racist policies, enacted in the 1970s and 80s, which disproportionately criminalize and harm Black and brown communities.”
Currently, if a prior drug offender is convicted of a second offense like drug possession for personal use, a judge is barred from sentencing probation and must sentence jail time. Additionally, judges are also barred from sentencing some first-time offenders with nonviolent drug charges to probation, according to Wiener’s office.
SB 73, however, would give judges discretion, allowing them to sentence first time offenders and others facing nonviolent drug charges to probation and rehabilitation programs instead of jail, if appropriate.
“We need to give discretion back to our courts when it comes to nonviolent drug offenses and ensure that we aren’t unnecessarily incarcerating people who might be better served by probation or treatment for addiction.
Our drug laws are a stain on California, and we must stop hurting communities and wasting valuable resources jailing people who have committed nonviolent drug offenses,” Wiener said.
I stopped reading at “Wiener pushing hard”
You know whoever wrote that was snickering the whole time. It’s like the same people who work at companies that abbreviate “Associates” to Ass. Geez…
🤣🤣🤣
I always thought Wiener was a weener. The man’s a crazy San Francisco Lefty who won’t be happy until they push the San Francisco scene on the entire state.
Also I resent that he calls the law racist simply because more people of one ethnic group end up in jail because of breaking it. If mainly black and brown people happen to be drug dealers then your percentages until would be higher. Is the crime the capital punishment not the race.
Came here to appreciate the headline. The guy and the bills he puts together, not so much.
Really!….. how immature.
And why isn’t the Senator doing something to help his constituents instead of hardened criminals?
I’m pretty sure most, if not all druggies steal to support their habit, and may use violence in the process. They are still a threat to society. At a minimum, lock them up in a rehab. center.
I really don’t think sentencing decisions should be based on what someone “might do” even if we’re “pretty sure” about our assumptions.
The United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime has reported that 1 in 20 people between the ages of 15 and 64 used drugs in 2013. They also stated that 90% of drug use is “non-problematic” as in occasional, recreational l use with no addiction involved. Does it still make sense to lock up all drug users in rehab?
Hey Scott, should the bill have a provision that keeps people of no color incarcerated?
i believe it was jim carey
in liar liar
who said it best
STOP BREAKING THE LAW JACK ASS
how is this weiner still able to push laws like raping children and legally giving someone aids
might as well give him a machete and let him roam SF randomly killing people to cull the population …seriously
if this guy can be a senator then i vote for manson
at least we know he wont abuse children
i can not believe the people of this state allow this clown to represent
as well as congress and the senate
….so if this guy said
we need to give cyanide to children who are stressed so they can make their own decision how to handle it …….
this would be ok right …..sick people allowing a sick mind to harm our children ……
what a loser
Makes absolute sense! We need the jail room for all the mask violators …
Still think that crazed drug abuser Rush Limbaugh should have done hard time.
Gavin and his team have worked hard to make California the homeless capital of the nation. Their legacy is the stain on California. And this guy wants to decorate the homeless problem with drug users. Unbelievable.
Of course he is! What has he ever done of value?
Let Wiener take personal charge of rehabilitation of 10 of these drug offenders and show us it can be done. Talk is cheap, get your hands dirty.
Yes, we have to let the druggies continue to influence poor neighborhoods and win more underprivileged to their way of life. That is what the limited brain power of a progressive gives you. Deliver me !!
What a waste of bandwidth usage!!
Need to get rid of Weinnie and his Demo cohorts, eg. Pelosi, B.Lee,, Newsom, Swalwell, ad nauseum….!
Sadly, prison is the opportunity to get clean – at least for a time. Probation does not have that same result.
This is also the same #$$!$# that introduced the bill to lower the consent age as long as there is no more than 10 years difference. So a 13 year old could have sex with a 23 year old. Or 11 with 21 y/o old. He is a disgusting pervert. How do you SF idiots elect this pedo trash?
If someone who is assigned rehab doesn’t go to rehab, they would be in violation of the probation terms, would be arrested and put in jail for violating a judge’s order. Probation isn’t a free pass. Additionally, a person sentenced with rehab and probation would undoubtedly have a search clause allowing any officer to search their person and belongings for drugs. They could even be subject to probationary drug tests, if a judge orders this provision.
The legislation wouldn’t bar imprisonment for a first time drug offense. It only offers options. A judge doesn’t have to issue probation and rehab if they don’t think it’s the best option.
Who is going to go back out and pick up these probation violators? Our Police already have more than they can handle.
There aren’t enough resources to track all the offenders who don’t go to rehab. Sentence then to rehab.
There aren’t enough resources to track all the offenders who don’t go to rehab. Sentence them to rehab.
How do we get rid of this guy. He is doing his best to destroy this state with this kind of crap. He truly needs to be removed from office and anyone else that supports this crap that he keeps putting out. But then again it’s the democrats way of doing business. Pretty much need all of them removed since he will do some dealing to get it passed by them. We as the public have been bypassed in what we want
UM Mister. Would you like to spend time with all the victims and familes that cannot or no longer become UNADDICTED ???
YEAH go ahead and write a check, see if you can uproot the sanctity of a home and replace it with the void.
What a snow job ya living brat.
If I have to live next to that wreck reational activity while it gets off Scott free anytime then you can pay and refund everything first. AND NOT BURDEN THE INNOCENT.
oh hay for horses. I have to live everyday in a card bored box because of all that. Nasty man you need to be recalled.
You clearly have no understanding of why addiction occurs to begin with. If you did then you would understand that its frequently due to people simply not wanting to be present in their current situation which stems from psychological issues such as: depression, anxiety, PTSD, child abuse, etc.
Drug addiction is a health problem. It doesn’t just magically disappear after you lock someone up for a while – in fact, it exacerbates the problem.
Jim: Sympathy in copious amounts is not enough to stop destructive behaviour. Compassion is indeed an important part of controlling addiction. Stopping the behavior is also part of the equation. Some people cannot handle freedom. Confinement is a necessary part of the solution.
I agree we can modernize the idea of confinement. Work and education are a part of reconditioning. We need to put our handycapped to work in a wholesome environment. Some may need this style of incarceration for years or even a life time. Work camps do not have to be styled upon commie/fascist models. The can even be run by reformed addicts. Our organic food CA be grown by addicts. At the end of the day, they can be rewarded with medical marijuana or even dose the with sustainable drugs.
One thing for sure addicts cannot handle too much free time. Put them to work.
Typical pro-crime democrat. “Disproportionately affect communities of color”….Last I looked, white folks werent selling Crack in the black and brown communities. At some point these “Communities” will have to come to terms and complete a serious introspection; that the White Man isnt the one causing all of their problems.
paul
unfortunately it is the whites orchestrating this
the white liberals
who have taken it upon themselves to tell the disenfranchised to sit down
and let the white person speak for you
i am still waiting for any black or latina-o to step up and tell these liberal bums to shut up
that they can speak for themselves ….oh well i guess lebron but that has gone on deaf ears since the blame is being pushed onto the police and not the people who actually make the laws of this state and others as well
same old story liberals knowing more than the poor people
I am curious how many are actually incarcerated for the sole offense of non-violent drug charges, such as the example given of possession for personal use, or how many have that as part of a bevy of charges (burglary, possession of stolen goods and possession of heroin for personal use). What is next? If armed robbery occurs, but the robber did not really hurt the victim, no prison sentence?
Bill is so new there’s no analysis available on state’s website.
Given wiener’s past bills am not impressed with him.
There’s a reason drunk driving, though still a problem, is not as bad as it used to be and that is because of harsh penalties.
As to being disproportionate,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT2v64Ykxc0
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB73
One can only hope Biden appoints him to something so he quits single-handily destroying California.
Weiner is wrong. Mere possession is a misdemeanor crime, punishable by up to 1 year in a county jail. It’s a ticket, not a mandatory in-custody go-to-prison arrest. He’s an idiot.
San Francisco may keep electing Wiener, but the rest of the State can elect Senators who don’t support the legislation Wiener introduces. Pressure needs to be brought to bear on our local Senators to thwart Wiener’s bizarre penchant for questionable legislation. If Grayson isn’t voting against Wiener’s “off the wall” ideas of how State law should function, he isn’t serving his constituents wholly.
I guess it never occurred to him that addicts commit crimes in order to get drugs, Residential and car burglaries are a few of those. Fence goods, buy drugs. Rinse and repeat.