Chemical Dependency | Mandatory Minimum Sentences Are Ineffective and Unfair

In the following viewpoint, Dirk Chase Eldredge asserts that mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession have failed to reduce drug use and are an affront to judicial discretion. He argues that these laws have prevented judges from determining sentences based on the age and previous criminal record of defendants. As a result, Eldredge contends, the American legal system treats murderers and other criminals more leniently than people who have been convicted of growing or possessing marijuana. Eldredge is the author of Ending the War on Drugs: A Solution for America, the source...

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