Bobby Jindal signs into law bill increasing heroin penalties for dealers to 99 years

[greengummybear]

Bobby Jindal signs into law bill increasing heroin penalties for dealers to 99 years
on May 31, 2014 at 2:56 PM, updated May 31, 2014 at 9:53 PM

Gov. Bobby Jindal signed into law Friday (May 30) a bill that sets the maximum penalty for repeat offenses of heroin distribution at 99 years, up from 50. The new law also increases the mandatory minimum amount of time those convicted even once of dealing the drug must serve in prison to 10 years, up from five.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Dan Claitor, D-Baton Rouge, was one of two bills pitched this session proposing an increase in heroin penalties that were filed in response to startling increases in deadly heroin overdoses and use of the opiate in Louisiana.

The final version of the legislation Jindal signed Friday, his office announced Saturday (May 31), reflected a compromise between the bills' sponsors that includes measures from Claitor's original bill and from another sponsored by Rep. Joe Lopinto, R-Metairie. Claitor pitched a bump in the maximum penalty, while Lopinto pushed for an increase the mandatory minimum sentence.

The compromise version of the bill Jindal supported faced push back from a number of mostly black lawmakers who thought thought the penalties were too excessive. The virtual life sentence of the 99-year prison term also reverses, some noted, sentencing reform the Louisiana Legislature passed a few years ago that lowered the penalty for heroin distribution from an actual life sentence to 50 years. Rep. Pat Smith, D-Baton Rouge, said it took a decade to push that reform through successfully.

Two pieces of legislation were also filed this session attempting to prevent opiate overdoses from becoming deadly. Jindal earlier this week signed into law legislation sponsored by Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans, that expands access to a life-saving drug that reverses the effects of heroin for those undergoing an overdose. Another bill, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, D-Baton Rouge, awaiting the governor's signature would provide legal immunity under certain circumstances to witnesses of a drug overdose who call for help.

Use of heroin has spiked in recent years across all demographics in Louisiana and the rest of the country as abusers of prescription drugs are finding it easier and cheaper to obtain following crackdowns on prescription opiates. Testimony given earlier in the session on another heroin-related bill indicated at least 144 people died in 2013 of heroin overdoses in southeast Louisiana, alone.
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http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/bobby_jindal_heroin_penalties.html

 

[greengummybear]

it's scary to think the single place on the planet where you are most likely to get locked in a cage because of something non-violent isn't Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, North Korea, ect. it's actually here in America.

Louisiana is number 1 in the world! ...at incarcerating people because of non-violent crimes.

 

[neversickanymore]

Bobby Jindal is the governor of Louisiana.. I believe the location on the entire planet of the most incarcerated people.. the whole planet. Its also a very corrupt private prison industry where the sheriff's own the jail and lock people up for profit. Its an utter disgrace and is worse than slavery ever was. I will never set foot in that state ever again.

Its sick, inhumane, unholy, disgusting, and filthy. You fuckers will get yours in the end. Your dirty and everyone knows it. Your greed will fuck you.. you will slip up and your corruption will be brought to light and then I hope you all spend the rest of your pathetic lives in one of your confiscated prisons.

EDIT: GGB nijad me and beat me to it.

 

[greengummybear]

i agree i wouldn't live in Louisiana and use drugs. i wouldn't allow anyone I cared about to live their and use drugs. despite this I don't share your malice.

my opinion is vengeance is selfish and valueless. the situation is bad and the leaders have passed legislation violating human rights. the same can be said of America as an entire country. my focus is resolving the problem rather than punishing the responsible parties. the War On Drugs and mass incarceration proved punishment and incarceration has rapidly diminishing returns. incarcerating drug addicts doesn't fix addiction or save addicts. also, i doubt punishment and incarceration could fix ignorant leaders in Louisiana.

i learned, very painfully, you can't overcome these types of social problems in the middle of the deteriorated area. many people have tried and the social problems prevail because the culture of these places consume and destroy the people/resources invested in fixing the issues. i think the best option is experimenting with solutions in areas with stronger foundations. find a better solution then export this into the deteriorated areas. an example of this is the decriminalization of drug possession, legalization of cannabis, and harm reduction programs. all of these things decrease incarceration and decrease the harms associated with drug use. we should build support of these changes in favorable environments (California, Colorado, and New York). after the efficacy of these measures is proven and the most efficient method of implementation learned you export these policies into places such as Louisiana.

a side note. i listen to lots of older music. in the older recordings (early 70s) there is an apparent push towards influencing progressive individuals into moving into impoverished and hyper conservative regions, specifically Louisiana. this didn't solve the problems then and won't solve them now for the reasons i mentioned above. i guess the only thing achieved in these efforts was the life and future of the progressive individuals was decimated. this certainty didn't fix Louisiana.

 

[neversickanymore]

When men profit from horrific treatment of others im all for giving them a long taste of thier own medicine.



This is earth.. its a wild and rough place. Good luck with your idealistic thinking. Its admirable. It was/is promoted and practiced by many of the most famous and amazing people in history, but if you look around the tirants.. the greedy.. the power consumed,.. they are the majority running the show.

Im much more for fighting for whats rite and am all for people who do awful things being punished accordingly.

Why do you feel poverty and deterioration are so hard to escape or prevent in certain areas?

Also how much of the drug war do you think really has anything to do with trying to stop drug use or deal with the problems associated with? Its my sincere opinions that the drug war is much more about money, oppression, and power.

Why would the owner of a jail want to address the "problem" that's making him wealthy?

Why do we allow the person who makes the arrests to profit from this with ownership of the prisons?

 

[Trying2Iso]

heroin dealers are evil tho, they ruin people's lives for money that the addicts sometimes commit crimes to get so that they don't go into withdrawal.
Heroin dealers know what they are doing and they are fine profiting from it.
the only heroin dealers i don't despise are the ones who do it to feed their own habit, and that's because they're addicts just like their customers.
addiction is an illness, and these dealers are making it so much worse

 

[poledriver]

^ Do you think the makers, transporters and sellers of alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical drugs are also evil? They've all addicted and killed millions of people worldwide (or played some part in the addictions and deaths).

Or are they ok because they are legal and taxed?

 

[neversickanymore]

Looking at the utter lack of success attacking supply side for forty years this will not have a positive effect.

Like you stated many street level dealers are addicts trying to survive.

Many times people with personal use drugs that are split up are charged with possession with intent to distribute.

I have personally witnessed children so young they cant talk accepting money and delivering crack on Bourbon st. Wonder if this is related to ridiculous sentencing and probation.

99 years is ridiculous.

 

[Trying2Iso]

^ Do you think the makers, transporters and sellers of alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical drugs are also evil? They've all addicted and killed millions of people worldwide (or played some part in the addictions and deaths).

Or are they ok because they are legal and taxed?

Alcohol and tobacco are bad too, but you don't see cigarette addicts burglarizing homes for cigarettes.
I FULLY believe alcohol is worse for you than heroin, and I FULLY believe heroin is more addictive than alcohol
also i fully believe both can ruin people's lives.

And don't accuse me of approving of alcohol, i despise it as a drug.
I just feel that heroin dealers are profiting off of the demise of people suffering from addiction. and often, the addicts are the ones who end up in prison, not the dealer.

I've seen too many of my friends' lives ruined by heroin to feel sorry for heroin dealers. Sure, my friends tried the drug, but the dealers took advantage of that and made money off of my friends' addiction. And they knew the guys were addicts and didn't care, they WANTED to get them hooked...

 

[LSDMDMA&AMP]

Heroin dealers dont take advantage necessarily.
its not their doing that someone gets addicted to heroin.

 

[Trying2Iso]

Heroin dealers dont take advantage necessarily.
its not their doing that someone gets addicted to heroin.

But they don't mind feeding the addict's unhealthy habit and enabling the addiction, profiting from it at the same time (oh how convenient...)

they are selling a product that ruins people's lives. they are selling a product that kills, harms, sucks people in...

yes, very similar to alcohol, actually.

 

[poledriver]

and tobacco.

 

[treezy z]

heroin dealers are evil tho, they ruin people's lives for money that the addicts sometimes commit crimes to get so that they don't go into withdrawal.
Heroin dealers know what they are doing and they are fine profiting from it.
the only heroin dealers i don't despise are the ones who do it to feed their own habit, and that's because they're addicts just like their customers.
addiction is an illness, and these dealers are making it so much worse

I like the dealers of heroin (who don't use) much better than the average junkie. The dealers are just trying to earn a living, junkies are the dregs of society.

 

[treezy z]

Worth noting is that America tries to be on a high horse about human rights and shit, but we have the number one prison population by far both in absolute numbers and per capita.

China has less people in prison than the U.S. despite being run by the supposedly evil communist party. I don't think they're good people but not any worse than the leaders of the U.S. IMO.

 

[Trying2Iso]

I like the dealers of heroin (who don't use) much better than the average junkie. The dealers are just trying to earn a living, junkies are the dregs of society.

Actually the junkies are the people suffering from a disorder called ADDICTION, which if you've ever known an addict is something you have no control over.
the non-using dealers are profiting off of a disorder that causes crime, despair, and often ends in death.
IMO, the non-using dealers are the evil ones
there are other ways to make money that don't ruin the lives of others.

 

['medicine cabinet']

I knew this was going to be in LA

Horrible law...is going to ruins the lives of soany and profit so few, the few being the assholes that run the PIC

 

[greengummybear]

When men profit from horrific treatment of others im all for giving them a long taste of thier own medicine.
...
Im much more for fighting for whats rite and am all for people who do awful things being punished accordingly...

What makes you feel this way? Most Americans agree with you and every country in the world with lower crime rates has fewer incarcerated people than America. Extreme punishment is ineffective at healing the victim of the crime, is less effective at deterring crime than humane options, and doesn't increase the likelihood of the criminal peacefully reintegrating into society. Inflicting excessive punishment upon criminals simply because the victim and observers feel the way they want about this is irrational. My opinion on this is the same regarding drug addicts and politicians.

Also how much of the drug war do you think really has anything to do with trying to stop drug use or deal with the problems associated with? Its my sincere opinions that the drug war is much more about money, oppression, and power.

Why would the owner of a jail want to address the "problem" that's making him wealthy?

Why do we allow the person who makes the arrests to profit from this with ownership of the prisons?

You might want to ignore me rambling people.

All right, lots of questions. These seem valid enough. I think this all boils down to whats the real issue. Our society produces brutal and simplistic law. But, i feel like we want to shove several additional things up in there. Our society produces brutal and simplistic music. Our society also produces brutal and simplistic architecture. So whats the problem? I don't know what to call what causes this. Though history hints at a shift. Humans have made elaborate monuments marking their existence over the centuries. The temples of the isolated Mayans were elaborate and beautiful. The same is true many miles away in the Roman colloseums and the Sistine Chapel, the mosques of the middle east, and the temples of India. If you walk downtown in any major American city and look at buildings from earlier than the 1920s you'll find the same complexity and beauty. Elaborate molding, pillars, and gargoyles are prominent. Even the older railings and street lights have elaborate decorations on them. As you walk through the streets there is suddenly dramatic shifts. In the side of your sight, smashing in, you notice the iridescent greenish glare, the simplistic repeating patterns of the reflective windows on modern architecture. The newer buildings remind me of the Emerald City in the novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L Frank Baum where the Emerald City surrounded with poppies was actually bland and drab. The city only looked beautiful through the lens of the glasses locked over the viewers eyes and the wonderful wizard was as much an illusion as the magnificence of the city. Perhaps we to could be blind about the reality of our modern cities. Where did the complexity go in our architecture, in our music, in our laws? The shift in the 1920s is obvious and in the past several decades the consequences of this brutal simplicity began emerging. After what caused this shift is common knowledge our society should recover. The problems you present in your questions are symptoms NeverSickAnymore. With our brutal and simplistic world view we notice these symptoms to late. An example is mass incarceration and excessive drug crime penalties. Perhaps short term solutions are an option. I think we have to find out what the issue is and stop treading water.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Actually the junkies are the people suffering from a disorder called ADDICTION, which if you've ever known an addict is something you have no control over.
the non-using dealers are profiting off of a disorder that causes crime, despair, and often ends in death.
IMO, the non-using dealers are the evil ones
there are other ways to make money that don't ruin the lives of others.

To demonize a whole group of people - people who use heroin vs people who sell is vs people who sell-to-use - is kind of beside the point.

Nothing could justify the war on drugs, except creating an underclass (junkies? or dealer?) or people who are stigmatized to the degree that they very existence (which no one is going to be able to wipe away, btw) justifies draconian measures (such as proposed in the OP article).

2Iso, you might have good intentions, but do you recognize how you've just created an argument for the WOD? And to say an "addict" has no control over their "addiction..." well, I hate to attack you, but that's bullshit. Heroin addicts are really good at moving on with their lives too, just as well as anyone else, at least when the totality of their environment isn't entirely hopeless, isolating and punitive (e.g. in America and as well as LA).

 

[greengummybear]

thats true heroin addicts are people. 10 years of prison on the first offense because they sold drugs is excessive incarceration.

 

[poledriver]

It's beyond excessive imo, it is insane.

The new law also increases the mandatory minimum amount of time those convicted even once of dealing the drug must serve in prison to 10 years, up from five.

So someone is caught dealing a very small amount of heroin (even to a friend say) and they've never been caught for any other crime ever and have a clean record and because they got caught selling a gram or even less to their mate they will face 10 years in jail?

w.t.f....

Sounds like a good way to fill prisons with even more people for a very long time... Sadly.