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On March 21, the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û submitted recommendations to the in response to the commission's request for public comments on a variety of to the . In the comments, the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û urges the commission to:

• minimize the role of drug quantity as a driving factor in sentencing
• make the United States Sentencing Guidelines that implement the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive
• reduce the sentencing guidelines for all drugs offenses
• allow courts to impose a sentence below a statutory mandatory minimum on certain instances

The overarching theme of the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û's comments is that by adopting the policies described above, the Sentencing Commission can take a major step toward restoring basic fairness in our criminal justice system. In the 40 years since President Nixon's declaration of a "," America has spent approximately one pursuing a that has had in the United States. In fact, the major result of this "war" is that it has helped earn America the lamentable distinction of incarcerating more people – in absolute numbers and per capita – than any other nation in the world. To make matters worse, this population disproportionately and overwhelmingly consists of .

As the independent agency responsible for setting sentencing policies for the federal courts, the commission needs to take specific practical steps to reinstate confidence in our criminal justice system. By reducing unequal and unnecessary drug sentences the commission would help wean America off its misguided reliance on ineffective, draconian policies for drug offenders that have promoted not only racial disparities in sentencing but also a sustained and costly explosion in the number of people in the federal penal system.

Many states — including , and — have already embraced meaningful drug sentencing reform, and the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û will continue working with the Sentencing Commission, the administration and Congress to ensure that the federal criminal justice system also imposes sentences that protect the public and preserve precious financial resources.

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