[A CA Guy]

I guess that area doesn't like drug sales around schools.

[seacapn]

I think the main problem with very large "drug free school zones" is the following:

-Drug-Free School Zones (DFSZs) were designed to shove dealers and peddlers away from schools by creating a sentencing disparity between school zones and other zones. Before, when penalties were equal for both zones, dealers could deal anywhere without that kind of disparity. So, we're okay so far.

-But, when you expand DFSZs to the point where they end up covering a large percentage of a city, you again eliminate the disparity. This is because school zones no longer have a sentencing disparity between the schoolgrounds and other areas. Basically, we have upped the overall sentencing penalties, but have also erased the uniqueness of penalties for dealing near schools.

-So, since we erase the difference, dealers have less incentive to avoid schools. After all, if a large amount of land in a city will draw the penalty anyway, may as well "get your money's worth."

So, if we want drug dealers to go out of their way to avoid the areas around schools, we'd need to tighten the definition of school zone, and restore a sentencing disparity.

[pepsionice]

In this case...Mitch was awful stupid...and I'm betting he won't improve any when he is released after two years. He will be back in jail by age 30.

[PaxMacian]

How else can we clear the voting roles of the minorities before they can become the majority? Beg the lord for forgiveness of your sins and for those of the ones you abet to sin.