Chris Christie wants to send non-violent drug offenders to rehab rather than prison.
The proposal, which seems to have gotten buried amid the perpetual avalanche of gubernatorial news-making, was contained in one of the most eloquent passages of the governor’s State-of-the-State address on January 17.
“(L)et us reclaim the lives of those drug offenders who have not committed a violent crime…by investing time and money in drug treatment – in an in-house, secure facility – rather than putting them in prison,” Christie said. “Experience has shown that treating non-violent drug offenders is two-thirds less expensive than housing them in prison. And more importantly – as long as they have not violently victimized society – everyone deserves a second chance, because no life is disposable.
“I am not satisfied to have this as merely a pilot project; I am calling for a transformation of the way we deal with drug abuse and incarceration in every corner of New Jersey.
“So today I ask this Legislature and the Chief Justice to join me in this commitment that no life is disposable.
“I propose mandatory treatment for every non-violent offender with a drug abuse problem in New Jersey, not just a select few. It will send a clear message to those who have fallen victim to the disease of drug abuse – we want to help you, not throw you away. We will require you to get treatment. Your life has value. Every one of God’s creations can be redeemed. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Bravo, Governor.
- "The proposal, which seems to have gotten buried amid the perpetual avalanche of gubernatorial news-making" --- Nope. The local news media was more concerned with Christie's comments from a few days ago and they were trying real hard to make news instead of report it.— psyrus
- I agree with this idea. It's time we show some common sense.— dcheil
- I too don't care for this Governor and didn't vote for him, but this idea has a lot of merit.— richw38
Comment removed.- NIMBY. But yea, other than that, it makes sense from a fiscal & humanitarian perspective.— dragoon6
- Many of the governor's messages are lost...I think if he were given half a chance, many people could see that he has, not only insight, but some workable solutions...— marcamp
- He shouldn't be making a case for this based on the fact that it cost less. Whatever is the most effective method of dealing with this crime should be the main criteria. Have the guts to make the case and stop worrying about your own political future. This guy seems to view everything in the perspective of his career. We need real leadership to get things done. Everything is at a standstill as Govenor Irrelevant continues to brag about a few minor acheivements he had early in his term. Do you want to pile up political points or address the critical issues?— MikeP
- Inevitably this will just lead to everyone commiting a non violent crime claiming to have a drug problem. If you steal $10,000 from your employer (stealing is non violent/robbing is violent) All you need to do to avoid prison is claim a drug dependency. Don't make more issues in order to fix a problem. Simply decriminalize drug use and put real criminals in jail no matter what their excuse. Legalizing drugs will save far more than the Governors idea, it just doesn't sound as cool.— jmichman
- why didnt the inquirer's spy who writes the christie chronicles break this.. oh wait. he said god... thats gotta be wrong.— stevejones
- If you want to really have an impact on the serious drug problem in this country try putting those who push drugs up in front of firing squads.— mindstorms
- I consider Christie to be the enemy but, unlike the Pubs who won't give Obama any credit for anything even when it's something they previously promoted, I'll give Christie props for this.— r white
- rather forward thinking for a member of the GOP.— chasing history
- what a fantastic idea. it's ideas like these that make it clear why he left the GOP. evidence-based solutions to societal problems are frowned upon in his former party.— tockeyhockey
- jmichman - you are convoluting the idea. if you steal $10,000 from your employer, you will most likely be charged with of fraud, theft, and other related offenses. saying you have a drug problem won't make those go away.
however, if you get pulled over in your car and get caught with drugs and you don't have a violent past, you will be eligible for the treatment program. this is not a loophole to escape other crimes, so stop trying to twist it because you want to make Christie look bad.— MoneyMan1115
- A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- A Smoke-Filled Room
- Afro-Netizen™
- artblog
- Attytood
- Balls, Sticks and Stuff
- Swing and A Miss
- Blankbaby
- blonde sagacity
- Citizen Mom
- Daily Sally
- The BM Rant
- How Appealing
- philly
- Philly Future
- Tom Gralish's Photo Blog
- The All Spin Zone
- The700Level.com
- slacktivist
- Suburban Guerrilla
- The Rittenhouse Review
- Philebrity
- Philadelphia Weather
- Above Average Jane
- Beerleaguer
- Phillyist
- Philadelphia Will Do
- The Clog
- This Urban Life
- Changing Skyline
- Books, Inq.
- Philly Skyline
- The Casual Critic
- Philadelphia Restaurants
- Skaroff Blog
- The Long Cut
- The Smedley Log
- Young Philly Politics
- Politics Philly
- Philly Burbs Blogs
- Mental Hopscotch
- The Daily Jive
- TheIlladelph
- The Phanatic
- Mere Cat
- Starting A Landslide In My Ego
- Booman Tribune
- My DD
- 538
- Brad DeLong
- pandagon
- Little Green Footballs
- The Daily Howler
- War & Piece
- Digby
- Instapundit
- Informed Comment
- The Huffington Post
- Pajamas Media
- Daily Kos
- Power Line
- Eschaton
- signandsight
- Der Spiegel Online
- Guardian Unlimited Newsblog
- Global Voices Online
- Economist.com
- Daou Report
- Blogspotting - BusinessWeek Online
- CJR Daily Home
- First Draft by Tim Porter
- Hypergene MediaBlog
- Online Journalism Review
- Poynter Online - Romenesko
- PressThink
- Reflections of a Newsosaur
- editorsweblog.org
- BuzzMachine... by Jeff Jarvis
- DeepBlog
- Joho the Blog
- Technorati
- The Daily Beast
- Some Velvet Blog
- Stereogum
- songsillinois
- Said the Gramophone
- Music (for robots)
- Largehearted Boy
- Wonkette
- WFMU's Beware of the Blog
- THE TOFU HUT
- Spoilt Victorian Child
- Blackmail Is My Life
- Gawker
- Fluxblog
- Blogcritics.org
- ArtsJournal Blog Central
- Arts and Letters Daily
- Slashdot News for nerds, stuff that matters
- Gizmodo
- Dynamist Blog
- Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things
- News | Sports | Business | What's Happening | Restaurants & Food | Entertainment | Living | Marketplace | Jobs
It's time we stopped fighting a war against people who are already victims in our own country, give them the treatment they need so they can become positive members of this great country. Save the resources we would have spent to try and jail these people and go after the real animals, the violent criminals who push it on our streets.