In our editorial Oct.10, we discussed the problems with federal "mandatory minimum" laws.
Although these sentencing requirements are archaic, they pale in comparison to the state of Florida's mandatory minimum laws.
If you have ever been injured while playing sports or in an automobile accident, your doctor might have prescribed you Lortab, a pain killer containing about 7.5 milligrams of oxycodine.
The active ingredient in this pill is a controlled substance, meaning that it requires a prescription and could potentially land you in jail if caught using without one or if found with excess amounts of the drug.
If caught with between eight and 27 Lortab tablets without a prescription, Florida law requires a mandatory minimum sentence of three years and a $50,000 fine for "trafficking" in oxycodine. Four grams, or eight pills, of Lortab is all that is needed to get this sentence. Not four grams of oxycodine, which makes up only 0.06 grams of eight Lortab pills - just four grams of Lortab tablets. The other 3.94 grams of the Lortab pills are made up of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol.
Luckily, we are keeping these violent criminals off the streets.
If caught with between 28 and 55 pills, you could face 15 years in prison and a $100,000 fine; That's 30 years and a $500,000 fine if caught with more than 56 pills.
That's 30 years in prison for possession of pain killers. The state does not even have to prove that you intended to distribute these pills nor are defendants allowed to say that they were unaware of the illegality of the substance they possessed.
Republican Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff has been trying to abolish mandatory minimums in Florida but has failed because politicians fear they will look "weak on crime."
Like federal drug laws, these laws in Florida have been overpopulating prisons with non-violent drug users.
While the subject of drug use is still a matter of debate, surely no one can say that these laws are helping to end use of illegal substances. How can anyone say that putting someone in jail for 15 years for possessing otherwise legal pain killers is a rational sentence?
What is the purpose of prison?
We put nonviolent offenders in jail, surrounded by rapists and murderers, for years only to be released to commit violent crimes.
The facts show that our current policies are weak on crime.
This issue goes way beyond the billions of dollars that we spend every year to keep people incarcerated.
This issue represents the despicable use of human beings for political gain.
