SB 3 offers the smart, conservative, drug-sentencing reform Ohio needs: Grover Norquist

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The opioid addiction crisis has hit Ohio with its full weight. Among many awful consequences, it has exposed flaws in the criminal justice system when it comes to handling drug addiction. It’s time for state lawmakers to fix that.

As of 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 5,000 overdose deaths in Ohio. That was more than twice the national average, and at 46.3 deaths per 100,000 people, the second highest in the country. Thousands more suffer from substance-use disorders and need treatment but have not received it.

Treating people who are sick and addicted to drugs as if they are criminals – locking them up and tagging them with serious criminal convictions, rather than treatment – is not helping.

Fortunately for Ohioans, they have a state government controlled by Republicans. While it may come as a surprise to some, Republican-led states have been leading on criminal justice reform.

States like Utah, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Louisiana have enacted sentencing reforms and changes aimed at diverting people suffering from addiction toward treatment, rather than simply punishment.

Republican leadership in the Ohio legislature is working to build on these successes with Senate Bill 3. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. John Eklund, is a conservative, smart-on-crime reform of drug sentencing laws to reduce recidivism and control costs.

SB 3 will differentiate between criminal traffickers who prey upon communities, and addicts who need more effective treatment. There will be more avenues for addicts to receive that needed treatment, while high-level traffickers will receive the harsh penalties they deserve.

Possession of very small quantities of marijuana would no longer be a crime, and small amounts would trigger a minor misdemeanor charge.

Additionally, by opening up expungement to people who have already been convicted of low-level possession, SB 3 will help those who have shown they can stay on the straight-and-narrow improve their career prospects, and contribute more to Ohio’s economy and their communities.

Beyond restoring the lives of those struggling with substance abuse issues, SB 3 will address the waste of taxpayer dollars on costly prison beds that do nothing to address addiction. Ohio spends $76 per day, or almost $28,000 per year, per prisoner, according to state data from last June. One-in-three of those individuals will return to prison within three years. Ohio’s taxpayers are throwing good money after bad.

The state is in good company in these efforts. Just about a year ago, President Donald Trump made history by signing the First Step Act into law – the most comprehensive federal criminal justice reform legislation in decades. Both parties in Ohio’s congressional delegation were critical to its passage, providing unanimous support.

And Ohio voters agree, with 87 percent of Ohioans across the political spectrum strongly supporting reducing prison time for low-level offenders, and 84 percent agreeing judges should divert people caught with small amounts of drugs into treatment, rather than prison.

That is not to say punishment or jail is never called for. In fact, it can be a vital tactic to hold someone who is abusing drugs in detention for a short period of time to save them from overdose. Senate Bill 3 – unlike the failed, overly aggressive State Issue 1 in Ohio in 2018 – does not interfere with this tactic.

If our goal is to create more criminals and fail to improve the overdose crisis, then we should continue to throw people battling addiction into prison. But if we want to create safer neighborhoods, then offer treatment and rehabilitation instead.

Now it’s up to Gov. Mike DeWine and legislators in Ohio from both parties to keep that momentum going. The time to act is now: Pass Senate Bill 3, provide a path to rehabilitation to thousands, and do what’s best for Ohio’s families and taxpayers.

Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform.

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