Chris Christie Calls War On Drugs 'A Failure' BULLSHIT he sees a profit opportunity for his friends

[DainBramaged]

Christie stressed the merits of legislation recently passed by New Jersey state lawmakers that institutes a year of mandatory treatment for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders instead of jail time. The mandatory treatment program, slated to be put in place in at least three counties during its first year, will eventually expand statewide over the next five years.

Christie, one of the few Republican lawmakers to actively speak out against the effects of America's drug war policies, sought to put a conservative moral spin on his position.

"If you're pro-life, as I am, you can't be pro-life just in the womb," he said. "Every life is precious and every one of God's creatures can be redeemed, but they won't if we ignore them."

Perhaps to blunt conservative criticism of the cost of such a program to the state, Christie argued in favor of the economics of drug treatment over incarceration.

"It costs us $49,000 a year to warehouse a prisoner in New Jersey state prisons last year," Christie said. "A full year of inpatient drug treatment costs 24,000 a year."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/chris-christie-drugs-war-on-drugs_n_1659687.html


NOTHING this piece of shit does is to help the 'little people', NOTHING.

[Lionessa]

1. Confused. You want first time non-v drug offenders to go to jail instead of rehab?

I get that he's sort of stealing a Dem idea, but I don't get how it's bad.

[Lionessa]

8. Granted I'd object if against MJ users on principle, but offenders have serious drug addictions.

No matter who owns the facilities, someone is going to make a profit, whether prison or rehab, at least in many states that have privatized prisons and jails.

So again, except for mj, I see no problem with mandatory rehab over prison for offenders. Now if this ends up like the NYC stop and frisk, so they can arrest without regard just to fill the rehab facility then again I see a problem. Or if the rehab facility is somehow altogether bogus. On principle though, I still think rehab is better than prison.

[Lionessa]

10. It says drug rehap, not marijuana rehab.

On principle, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. +1.

[DainBramaged]

5. Here

Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie insisted on budget cuts in 2010, except when it came to funding treatment centers, formerly called halfway houses. Gov. Christie wanted to increase funding for treatment centers by $3.1 million, from $61.5 million to $64.6 million, which would benefit prisoners after they were released.

Coincidentally, the increased funding would also benefit the governor’s close friend and political advisor William J. Palatucci, who is a senior vice president and general counsel for Community Education Centers (CEC) – a for-profit company that operates treatment centers in New Jersey as well as secure facilities and in-patient treatment programs in other states.

Palatucci has a decades-long relationship with Christie, during which he has helped run Christie’s election campaign and served as co-chair of Christie’s inaugural committee. He has also personally contributed $26,650 to the Republican Party. John C. Clancy, CEC’s chairman, contributed $138,525 and CEC has contributed $372,350 to both parties.

The donations seem to have paid off. CEC provides 1,687 of the 3,029 treatment center beds under contract from the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC).

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/(S(jsvqxj551jadatrr3uism3e3))/displayArticle.aspx?articleid=23108&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

[arcane1]

6. Yep, just another way to make money off the "war" on (some) drugs n/t