Democratic Governor (MA) and presidential contender
2012: As governor, opposed pot decriminalization
In July 2012, Patrick declared that "warehousing non-violent offenders is a costly policy failure" and proudly signed a bill that offered parole to a few hundred non-violent drug offenders.
But despite the governor's rhetoric, Massachusetts continued rounding up and locking away vast numbers of people caught with prohibited substances. Patrick strongly opposed decriminalizing marijuana.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary
, Nov 27, 2019
Warehousing non-violent offenders is a costly policy failure
In cases of non-violent drug offenders, we have to deal with the fact that simply warehousing non-violent offenders is a costly policy failure. Our spending on prisons has grown 30 percent in the past decade, much of that because of longer
sentences for first-time and nonviolent drug offenders. We have moved, at massive public expense, from treatment for drug offenders to indiscriminate prison sentences, and gained nothing in public safety.
92 percent of the total prison population--92 percent--is eligible for release at some point, and many come out more dangerous than they were when they went in. States across the country--most recently, Ohio,
Delaware and South Carolina--have already recognized the folly of mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders and made significant reforms.
