Drug Law | People for Drug Reform

Knowing the Laws about Drug-Related Truck Crashes

Everybody knows that driving under the influence of drink and drugs is not only a contemptible thing to do, but is highly illegal. The penalty for drivers who are caught driving under the influence is often a revocation of their license and often some serious jail time. However, such accidents affect many innocent people who have done nothing wrong. If you believe you may be entitled to compensation because of such an accident, it is important to be aware of the laws regarding drug-induced truck accidents.

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Know The Law

One of the first things you should do is look up the national laws on drug driving online. There are many organizations and institutions that can give you this information, such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse. These organizations not only provide a number of statistics and detailed information on the effects of driving under the influence, but can help you find a lawyer who can handle your case for you.

Find a Lawyer

The next step is to search for legal advice to aid you in your case. You need to make sure you hire a legal team that is fully aware of the national laws as well as any state rules that might affect you depending on where you live. For example, if you are from Florida you are best off finding a Florida truck accident lawyer who knows exactly the stipulations and rules in your area.

Be Vigilant

Being aware on the road is one of the best ways to protect yourself, and this includes having a firm grasp of the law before you set out. If you suspect somebody of driving under the influence, make sure you take the necessary steps to protect yourself and others on the road.

Filed Under: Drugs Tagged With: Drug Law

Drug Law reform in New York State

Back in 1973, the Rockefeller administration in New York State enacted laws that ordered long and severe prison terms for the sale or possession of amounts of drugs that were relatively small in size. The target of these laws was the drug kingpins but most arrested by these laws were those involved in low-level, nonviolent offenses. As a result, there were thousands of people in New York in prisons that suffered from drug abuse problems, or problems related to mental illness, being homeless, or not having a job

The New York Civil Liberties Union as well as criminal justice advocates and medical experts have endeavored to convince judges that addiction should be treated as a public health matter. These non-violent drug offenders sentenced to prison is an ineffective means of treatment and only serves to highlight racial disparities. The ones who get incarcerated are primarily blacks and Hispanics although whites are the ones who mostly use illegal drugs.

In 2009, the governor of the state of New York along with the senate and the assembly passed laws to reform the Rockefeller drug laws. This represented a great shift in policy as well as a new approach to dealing with drug offenses. Instead of locking people up and leaving them to suffer with their drug problems, this new agreement promised to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and to enable judges to send drug offenders to rehabilitation programs instead of to jail. In addition, the sentencing was made retroactive so that more than 1,000 convicts who were in jail were allowed to apply to the court for a resentence and possible release from jail.

Despite these new reforms, there continue to be wide arrests in New York City for the possession of marijuana. Although simple possession has been decriminalized, police continue to arrest people who possess the drug in public view. The New York Civil Liberties Union criticized such practices claiming police coerced simple possession into an offense which could cause arrest.

Filed Under: Drugs, Workout Tagged With: Drug Law, New York

Drug Law Reform

The American Civil Liberties Union has a special division known as the Drug Law Reform Project. The goal of the project is to stop the passing of drug laws that punish people and cause constitutional and human rights to be violated on a widespread basis. This also applies to laws that cause high levels of imprisonment.

The Drug Law Reform Project was founded in 1998 as a means to raise attention to lawsuits that have a long term effect on the public understanding and government response to drug use and drug policies. Legal strategies of the project aim to fight for civil rights and not just persuade judges. The Project’s goal is to change the minds and hearts of communities that have the greatest issues with drugs and drug laws by combining legal action with public education campaigns that are innovative and to assist in developing tools for these communities so that justice can be served.

The Project has an excellent track record, having won cases in which racial profiling in drug law enforcement was involved and in which medical marijuana users and their doctors were protected from prosecution. Other cases which the Project has been successful litigating is one where a particular religious group used a hallucinogenic substance in their rituals and the Court issued an injunction against the Government which was unable to demonstrate a compelling reason why the group could not use the drug for sacramental purposes. In another case, the Project helped to argue against a school’s drug-testing policy for students participating in extra-curricular activities. The Project claimed that students should not have to undergo such testing for after school activities and the Court upheld the drug testing.

The Project hopes to continue its success in working through the courts, through education and the community at large to make sure that sensible and humane drug policies are enforced that respect basic human rights and liberties that have been granted by the United States Constitution.

Filed Under: Workout Tagged With: Drug, Drug Law