The Rockefeller Drug Laws: Will They Ever Change?

Hilary Cohen

Drug use, drug abuse, and drug related crimes. Will we ever see an end? Ways to solve the problems that stem from the distribution of narcotic drugs will always be an issue. In New York State in the early 1970’s, Governor Rockefeller saw a rise in heroin use, abuse and related crimes. By enacting, the Rockefeller Drug Laws, known today as some of the toughest out there, he felt that he would put a stop to heroin distribution and use. Today, there is huge controversy over the effect that these laws have had on New York’s fight against drugs. I think that it is important to understand what these laws are, the effects that they have had on our criminal justice system, what they were enacted to solve and to see if they have done what they were created to do. Once I have done this I want to try and see why, if so many people agree that these laws need to be changed, have efforts been fruitless?

I work in the New York State court system for a Supreme Court Judge who hears criminal cases. I have seen a lot of people before him being charged with and found guilty of drug related crimes. Drug use and abuse play a big part in our society and if we could come to an agreement on how to solve them, our society as a whole would benefit greatly. Harsh mandatory sentencing may not be the answer. The only way to find out is by understanding the laws and why they have been ineffective, as well as understanding why reform has been unsuccessful on so many occasions despite agreement that these laws need to be changed in order to better solve New York’s drug problems. I think that if I better understand the actual laws and their effects on many different things such as the system, families, and society, I will better understand the controversy and be able to see how I really feel about these laws.

The Rockefeller Drug Laws have become known as New York State’s harsh drug laws. These laws require judges to sentence people convicted of selling two ounces or of possessing four ounces of a narcotic drug to mandatory sentences of 15 years to life, or more (Wilson). These laws came to be in 1973 when Governor Rockefeller wanted to stop the sale and use of drugs, namely heroin and cocaine, as well as reduce drug related crime in the State of New York (Wilson). There seemed to be a heroin epidemic at this time and the only way that the Governor felt he could prevent this from becoming more widespread was to become very strict with the people who were supplying and using narcotics on all levels. “It was thought that rehabilitative efforts had failed; that the epidemic of drug abuse could be quelled only by the threat of inflexible, and therefore certain, exceptionally severe punishment” (People v. Broadie, N.Y. 2d 100,115). Initially it was thought that using a set of extremely harsh laws to instill the fear of severe punishment would help stop the spread of this drug problem.

According to a report by the Correctional Association of New York, the penalties for these drug laws are similar to the penalties for “murderers, arsonists, and kidnappers” and are more harsh than the sentences that are given for the crimes of armed robbery and rape. These sentences are imposed without taking into consideration a person’s background or the circumstances surrounding their offense (4). Once someone is convicted of the crime, he or she must be given the mandatory sentence without the judge having any choice in the matter.

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