Some prosecutors complain that the drug court concept is simply an attempt to make an end run around tougher drug sentences.

His son is in prison on a long drug sentence.

Dozens of Federal judges, most of them former prosecutors, have taken a strong stand against mandatory minimum drug sentences.

Changing the drug sentences seemed a lost cause for the moment, lobbyists said.

Mr. Callahan, who was among those indicted, is already serving a 10-year drug sentence in state prison.

Recently released from his drug sentence, he is back in Brentwood, wondering what will become of him.

I was working off a drug sentence at the County.

He is calling for an overhaul of the criminal justice system's heavy reliance on mandated drug sentences, which results in filled the prisons.

Convictions for violent crimes went down, while drug sentences rose more than twentyfold, from 67 in 1982 to 1,641 in 1989.

The sentencing guidelines provided 99 percent of all drug sentences and left little discretion for the judge.