Democrats still draconian on drug laws

By Libby

My dream of a sensible drug policy in the next administration died a long time ago. As Jeralyn points out, both our leading Democratic hopefuls have godawful positions on drug war policy but she also posts some very good news.

Congress in January cut funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant by two-thirds, from $520 million to $170 million for fiscal 2008. Local agencies say that's a threat to the officers who do much of the law enforcement spadework.

These Byrne task forces are responsible for some of the most egregious miscarriages of justice and violations of civil rights such as Tulia, Texas. They're a waste of tax dollars and do little more than invite corruption by law enforcement. I'm sorry they didn't abolish them altogether but this was a really good step in the right direction.