Many of our posts recently have been focused on the disproportionately harsh sentences given to certain drug offenders; particularly those charged in federal court. As of 2012, over 3,000 inmates were serving sentences of life without parole for drug crimes and other non-violent offenses. This number represents about 6 percent of the total number of inmates…

Like many other states, Utah has a drug problem that is increasingly proving fatal. Last year alone, approximately 502 people in Utah were killed by fatal drug overdoses. The number of overdose cases may be rising for a myriad of reasons, including the fact that street drugs such as heroin are increasing in potency and…

One of the most fundamental problems facing the American criminal justice system is debate over the answer to the following question: Is addiction a disease? Alcohol abuse was defined as an addiction by the American Medical Association in the mid 1960s, and drug abuse followed less than a decade later. Unfortunately, addiction is still widely…

Last week we wrote about a Utah man who has been in federal prison since 2004 and is currently serving a 55-year sentence. His crime involved selling a few hundred dollars’ worth of marijuana and being in possession of guns (even though they played no role in his drug dealing). How did a young man…

Several of our posts have focused on the sometimes baffling nature of America’s drug laws; particularly mandatory minimum sentences. Every year, non-violent drug offenders are given lengthy sentences that in some cases rival those given for much more serious offenses such as murder. A good example is a Utah man who is currently serving a…

It’s a classic scenario that has landed countless drivers in hot water. A police officer pulls someone over for erratic driving or some other infraction, and the stop yields something much more substantial, such as a large quantity of drugs. Many drunk driving arrests and drug crimes charges start with a traffic infraction that may…

In our first post last month, we wrote that the U.S. Department of Justice will reportedly be changing its approach to prosecuting possession and use of marijuana. Federal prosecutors have essentially been instructed to relax prosecution of low-level drug crimes involving marijuana and instead focus on violent drug crimes and trafficking rings. This policy change seems…

Last month, we wrote about the U.S. Justice Department’s plan to make drug crime prosecution and sentencing more reasonable. Approximately 1.5 million Americans were locked up as of last year; including 218,000 in federal prisons. Drug offenders accounted for half of the federal prison population. Harsh mandatory minimum sentences have not resulted in fewer drug…

Whether you look at prisons here in Utah or any other state in the country, it is plain to see that America’s war on drugs has claimed too many casualties and ruined too many lives. Few people realize it, but America incarcerates a greater percentage of its own population than any other country in the…