Naomi Long of the Drug Policy Foundation (DPA) has sent me a call for action letter concerning repeal of a mandatory minimum sentencing law in Maryland. I have seen quite a few of these over the years and found this one to be a very well written and powerful argument. One can only hope that some of the legislators actually read it. The paragraph below is my addition to the beginning of the sent letter.

I am a historian who studies the history of drug policy. I teach an online course at American University on the subject. So a quick review of the history of mandatory minimum sentencing may be helpful. These laws were enacted in both the 1930s in various places and in the 1950s on a national level. Both times they were eventually repealed because they proved to be debacles for many of the reasons discussed below. Please do not vote to save a policy that is an unjust unpractical abject proven failure.