Some Aspects of the “Tough” New York State Drug Law

The 1973 New York State drug law, the toughest in the nation, was passed over heavy opposition at a time when heroin abuse was already declining steadily. During the law's first year of operation, a declining pattern of drug arrests continued, more cases came to trial and went to prison, but robbery and burglary complaints increased. No significant changes were found in the activities of sellers, “unknown” regular users, and student users. Bribes to police did not increase and neither did the number of people seeking treatment. Both the extravagant expectations and fears about the law's effects seem to have been unjustified. Although large scale pushers have not been significantly deterred, the 32 million dollars needed to Implement the law's first year represented a substantial share of the total state drug budget. Continued monitoring of the law's effects will be needed in order to assess its social costs and benefits.