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James Webb on Drugs

Democratic Sr Senator

 


Stop locking up people for mere possession

"The time has come to stop locking up people for mere possession and use of marijuana. It makes far more sense to take the money that would be saved by such a policy and use it for enforcement [against] gang-related activities." Webb's book, A Time To Fight, May 2008
Source: MPP.org on "A Time To Fight", by Jim Webb , Nov 11, 2015

Everything should be on the table, including legalization

Source: Marijuana Policy Project on 2016 presidential hopefuls , Nov 11, 2015

Drug courts to deal with drugs as a sickness

About half of all the drug arrests in our country were for marijuana offenses.

We need smarter ways of dealing with people at apprehension. We need to consider the types of courts drug offenders go into--drug courts, as opposed to regular courts-- how long you sentence them, and how you get them ready to return home. It is a sickness and we have got to treat it that way. We must treat the people who need to be treated and incarcerate the people who need to be incarcerated.

Source: Brennan Center for Justice essays, p.118-9 , Apr 28, 2015

Drug abuse is a sickness and we've got to treat the sickness

Jim Webb met privately with law enforcement officers from throughout Southwest Virginia. After the 45-minute session at Norton Municipal Building, Webb said he heard law enforcement express concern about the growing drug problem, their ability to enforce drug laws and the need for federal funding to aid their efforts.

Looking at the interaction among the various agencies that tackle the drug problem is essential, the senator said. In 1980, he said, there were 40,000 people jailed on drug charges. Today, that number has grown to 500,000. "We have to find a better way to deal with the problem," Webb said. "It's a sickness and we've got to treat the sickness."

Source: The Coalfield Progress on 2016 presidential hopefuls , Sep 27, 2011

Add Virginia to High Intensity Drug Trafficking program

Webb urged the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to add 13 Southwest Virginia counties to its Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program (HIDTA).

"The expansion of Appalachia HIDTA into these Virginia communities would extend the reach and efficiency of HIDTA, allowing it to effectively combat and eradicate, rather than merely geographically relocate, these systemic drug trafficking and production networks," Webb wrote to the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Webb said he had been working toward getting all southwestern Virginia counties included in the Appalachia HIDTA facilitates cooperation between drug control organizations and helps federal, state and local law enforcement organizations invest in infrastructure and joint initiatives to confront drug traffickers.

"There's got to be a balance of enforcement," Webb said, adding that Virginia has suffered from the spill-over of drug problems from Tennessee and Kentucky.

Source: The Coalfield Progress on 2016 presidential hopefuls , Sep 27, 2011

Recommend drug policy to deal with growth of incarceration

Webb introduced a bill to create a commission that would undertake an 18-month study of the criminal justice system. Webb said that everything should be considered. And he means everything. "We want recommendations on how to deal with drug policy in our country," said Webb.

What about legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana? Webb paused. "I think they should do a very careful examination of all aspects of drug policy. I've done a couple of very extensive hearings on this, so we'll wait to see what they say about that," he said. So it's on the table? Webb flashed a wry grin, laughing mischievously. The last government study group to look at drug policy, the 1972 Shafer Commission, recommended that Pres. Nixon decriminalize marijuana. He didn't. This commission will have a broader mandate, said Webb.

Webb cited "the exponential growth of incarceration since 1980," saying that "a huge percentage of that growth has been nonviolent crimes associated with drugs."

Source: Huffington Post on 2016 presidential hopefuls , Apr 27, 2009

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