via Talk Left
" I don't think I've ever seen a bill as destructive as Rep. Sensenbrenner's new drug bill, H.R. 1528, the "The Safe Access to Drug Treatment & Child Protection Act of 2005." You think America's prison population is too high at 2 million? Get ready for 15 million.
An excellent bill summary is here.
You may remember this as the bill that provides for a five year mandatory minimum sentence for passing a joint to someone who's been through a drug treatment program. That's nothing. Read about what else this doozy of a bill will do. Like the "snitch or go to jail" provisions. If you are a college professor or student, you should be very afraid. The bill provides for a two year jail sentence if you observe or come across information about drug distribution near colleges and do not report it to authorities within 24 hours and provide full assistance investigating, apprehending, and prosecuting those involved. read on"
If we extend this bill to the Bush Administration we might have something here. Seriously, this is whacked. As Jeralyn points out, we'll need to build bigger prisons. I wouldn't be surprised to see a healthy rise in violent crimes either, because criminals will most likely take actions to prevent from being"snitched" upon. Do you think people will come in and actually help when a few examples are being made of the innocent? These are the kind of bills when you understand the "living in an ivory tower" metaphor.
