Rogers / 1 Senator Read-Skyhawk

S.S.S._

A BILL
To eliminate the imprisonment of drug offenders who have had no prior convictions.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Decriminalization Act of 2017.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) Almost 8 in 10 (79%) federal drug offenders have no relevant criminal history.
2) The average prison sentence for drug offenders in federal prison was 11.3 years.
3) Maryland's use of alternative sanctions has reduced the annual cost to house an offender from $20,000 to $4,000.
4) Treatment consistently has been shown to reduce the costs associated with lost productivity, crime, and
incarceration caused by drug use.
5) Treatment delivered in the community is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent such crimes and costs
approximately $20,000 less than incarceration per person per year.
6) With an estimated 6.8 million Americans struggling with drug abuse or dependence, the growth of the prison
population continues to be driven largely by incarceration for drug offenses.
7) Since 2012, the city's Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program (LEAD) cuts out the criminal justice
middleman. Instead of jailing people struggling with addiction, officers connect people directly with the treatment
and services that can actually help them get sober.
8) Along with these results, the evaluation found that the average cost of placing a participant in DTAP, including the
costs of residential treatment, vocational training a support services was $32,974half the average cost of $64,338 if
the participant had been sent to serve the average term of imprisonment for participants, 25 months.
9) States spent about $18.65 billion prisons in 2008, or around 90 percent of all money spent on corrections.
10) Treatment consistently has been shown to reduce the costs associated with lost productivity, crime, and
incarceration caused by drug abuse
11) Treatment delivered in the community is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent such crimes and costs
approximately $20,000 less than incarceration per year.
12) As a result of mandatory sentencing laws and the war on drugs, the number of drug offenders arrested annually
almost quadrupled from 1970 - to about 2 million during the first decade of the 21st century.
13) Researchers found that if just ten percent of eligible offenders were treated in community-based programs instead
of going to prison, the criminal justice system would save 4.8 billion, compared with current practices.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) The Decriminalization Act of 2017 shall send first-time nonviolent drug offenders who have no prior gang
affiliation to mandatory rehabilitation centers instead of federal prisons. Offenders must spend a minimum of six
months to a maximum of two years in the rehabilitation center, depending on the severity of the crime. A Federal
Committee shall be made to follow these guidelines. This program shall be paid for by the money saved by the
reduction of the first time non-violent prison population.
B) The bill is to be enforced through a new committee entitled The Decriminalization Committee. The Committee
shall be funded by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The funds needed shall come from the money saved as a result of
the decrease in the prison population. These alternative sanctions shall reduce the annual cost to house a non violent
drug offender from approximately $20,000 to $4,000. The money saved shall be used for drug awareness, drug
prevention programs, and communities stricken by drugs.
C) All offenders that do not follow the guidelines shall be prosecuted and sent to federal prison. The
Decriminalization Act of 2017 shall be enacted on January 1, 2017.

Press Release
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2,217,947 adults were incarcerated in US federal and state prisons, and
county jails in 2014. Prison population rates in the United States are the worlds highest, at 693 inmates per 100,000 of the national
population. The next closest prison population rate is 164 inmates per 100,000 of the national population, which is Chinas. Of the
3,910,647 adults on probation in the US at the end of 2013, 25% (approximately 977,662 people) had a drug charge as their most
serious offense. Should non-violent drug offenders be sent to prison, or should they receive help? The Decriminalization Act of
2017 would send non-violent drug offenders to treatment centers instead of prison. This bill needs to become a law because it will
lower prison populations, lower prison costs, and set up rehabilitation and treatment centers for nonviolent drug offenders who need
help, not incarceration.
The prison population in America is a major problem. The federal prisons are 40% overcrowded. One of the major reasons
for prisons being overcrowded is because of the war on drugs. Instead of picking a war on criminals, they decided to attack people
who have a problem and need help. As a result of the war on drugs, the number of drug offenders arrested annually almost
quadrupled from 1970- to about 2 million during the first decade of the twenty first century. Thanks to the relative ease of catching
small-time users, as well as the sheer numbers of such individuals, the vast majority of the people serving sentences were not
dealers or so-called drug kingpin's--gang leaders--but people caught using illegal drugs. The fact the United States makes up
around 5% of the worlds population, but holds 25% of the worlds prisoners is sickening. Drug convictions went from 15 inmates
per 100,000 adults in 1980 to 148 in 1996, an almost tenfold increase. More than half of America's federal inmates today are in
prison on drug convictions. In 2009 alone, 1.66 million Americans were arrested on drug charges, more than were arrested on
assault or larceny charges. And 4 of 5 of those arrests were simply for possession. My bill would lower prison populations and our
prison population rate by sending non-violent drug offenders to treatment and rehab centers instead of incarcerating them. Some
states have already made a switch to these treatment centers. For example, Marylands city Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion
program (LEAD) cuts out the criminal justice middleman. Instead of jailing people struggling with addiction, officers connect
people directly with the treatment and services that can actually help them get sober. Not only would this lower our nations prison
population, it would also make a huge difference in many peoples lives.
While the prison population is high, that also means the cost of housing prisoners is very expensive. Taxpayers spend over
$50 billion annually for state prisons. On average, it costs almost $29,000 to keep one person in federal prison for one year.
Sending these non-violent drug offenders to treatment centers would cut prison costs drastically. Marylands use of alternative
sanctions has reduced the annual cost to house an offender in their state prison system from $20,000 to $4,000. All of the money
saved from this could be used in so many better ways. The money saved shall go to drug awareness programs to make sure future
generations know the harsh personal cost of drugs. The federal prison system consumes over 25% of the entire Department of
Justice budget. Prison costs are eating up money that could be spent on police and protecting the public from violent offenders.
Lets put a stop to spending all this money on non-violent offenders, and start putting money to protect the public from criminals
who commit violent crimes.
Non-violent drug offenders have not been getting fair treatment. They are being sent to prisons that have some of the
nations worst criminals. Drug offenders do not need prison. They need help and treatment. According to the National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA), treatment consistently has been shown to reduce the costs associated with lost productivity, crime, and
incarceration caused by drug users. Not only would these treatment centers help treat these drug offenders, but it would also help
lower prison populations and costs. The Justice Policy Institute also states, Substance-involved people have come to compose a
large portion of the prison population. Substance use may play a role in the commission of certain crimes: approximately 16 percent
of people in state prison and 18 percent of people in federal prison reported committing their crimes to obtain money for drugs.
Treatment delivered in the community is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent such crimes and costs approximately
$20,000 less than incarceration per person per year. A study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy found that every
dollar spent on drug treatment in the community yields over $18 in cost savings related to crime. In comparison, prisons only yield
$.37 in public safety benefit per dollar spent. Releasing people to supervision and making treatment accessible is an effective way
of reducing problematic drug use, reducing crime associated with drug use and reducing the number of people in prison. This bill
would help the American people struggling with drug abuse, not just give up on them and put them through the Criminal Justice
System to be forgotten.

In conclusion, the Decriminalization Act of 2017 needs to be passed because it will lower prison populations,
lower prison costs, and send non-violent drug offenders to treatment, not prison. With this bill in place, we will see a
better future to come. We will have more and more citizens benefit our society, instead of rotting in cells. As a
government elected by the people, and for the people, we need to do our best for the citizens of this wonderful nation. I
expect my fellow senators to act accordingly, and make this bill a law.