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Assembly passes drug law reform
Long-deferred measures headed to state Senate

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau
Last updated: 6:25 p.m., Wednesday, March 4, 2009
     
ALBANY — The state Assembly just passed changes to the state's drug sentencing guidelines, which chamber leaders say will mark the most significant changes to the so-called Rockefeller Drug Laws since they were put in place 35 years ago.
The measure, which passed 96-46, would remove many of the tough mandatory prison sentences for drug possession, instead giving more discretion to judges. It would also expand opportunities for drug treatment rather than imprisonment.

While the Democratic-led Assembly has long supported such reforms, advocates say only this year, with the Senate also under Democratic control, do the new laws have a chance to pass.

There's currently no timetable for...............http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=776391