On April 29, MBA President David W. White Jr. led the first meeting of the MBA’s Drug Policy Task Force. More than one dozen attorneys, as well as civic and other nonprofit group leaders, were in attendance to begin the dialogue surrounding drug policy reform as it relates to criminal sentencing. Since then, the group convened a second time on May 19.
On hand for the task force’s inaugural meeting was Washington State Rep. Roger Goodman, who has been instrumental in advocating and implementing policies in his state that focus on rehabilitation rather than incarceration for drug use and distribution offenses. This was Goodman’s second visit to the Bay State in recent months. He also was a key panel member at the MBA’s Criminal Sentencing Symposium held at the State House in October.