Obama's AG's Views On Drug Laws

Mr. Holder's Views
From TalkLeft (http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/11/18/21472/416):

As U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., Eric Holder sought to raise marijuana
penalties and restore mandatory minimum penalties for drug crimes. From the
Washington Times, December 5, 1996 (via Lexis.com):

Eric Holder yesterday said he will seek to make marijuana distribution in
the District a felony and reinstate mandatory-minimum sentences for
convicted drug dealers. Mr. Holder,...said the D.C. Council's vote a year
ago to repeal mandatory minimums was "misguided," leading to a backlog in
the court system. He also warned that the city is on the verge of an
explosion in violence associated with the sale and use of marijuana.

[More....]

"The truth of the matter is that marijuana is a significant problem for the
city," said Mr. Holder in an interview. "Crack cocaine still drives most of
the violence in this city, but marijuana violence is increasing. We need to
nip it in the bud."

His proposals have two thrusts: The first involves setting minimum sentences
of 18 months for first-time convicted drug dealers, 36 months for the second
time and 72 months for every conviction thereafter.

Mr. Holder would also make the penalty for distribution and possession with
intent to distribute marijuana a felony, punishable with up to a five-year
sentence. Currently, the crime is a misdemeanor, regardless of the quantity
of the marijuana or if the buyer is a child, Mr. Holder said.

The Washington Post, 7/12/2000 (Via Lexis.com):

The D.C. Council voted yesterday to toughen the maximum penalties for the
distribution of marijuana, making it a felony subject to a five-year prison
term rather than a one-year misdemeanor....Eric H. Holder Jr. began pushing
for tougher marijuana penalties in the District in 1996, when he was the U.S.
attorney.