Silver Joins Governor Paterson For Bill SigningTo Reform Rockefeller Drug Laws
After Decades Of Incarceration, Drug Addiction To Be Treated As A Disease
April 24, 2009
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Thank you Governor. Thank you for your very kind words.

It has taken a long time to reach this landmark day in New York history. I and my Assembly Majority colleagues have waited years for the time that we could proclaim real and significant progress in the fight to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws. - more -


Assembly Passes Landmark Drug Law Reforms
March 4, 2009
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Citing 35 years of failed drug policy under the Rockefeller Drug Laws, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assembly Correction Committee Chair Jeffrion Aubry, Judiciary Committee Chair Helene Weinstein and Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol announced that the Assembly approved legislation... - more -

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Silver: 2009 Year to Finally Reform Rockefeller Drug Laws
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January 22, 2009
On behalf of my colleagues who are standing with me this evening, and on behalf of the New York State Assembly, I commend the leadership of both The New York Academy of Medicine and The Drug Policy Alliance for your commitment to establishing here, in the State of New York, a more just, a more humane and a more effective drug policy. - more -

Assembly Commitment To Reforming Drug Law

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Photo Gallery
Speaker Silver (center) held a Capitol news conference to announce the passage of the Assembly’s Rockefeller Drug Law reform legislation. The bill returns judicial sentencing discretion, providing rehabilitation programs for non-violent drug offenders as an alternative to incarceration.
(Center) Assembly Corrections Committee Chair Jeffrion Aubry, the bill’s sponsor and a long-time advocate for the Reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, told reporters the Assembly’s bill would end mandatory sentencing maximums because they were and are ineffective in the war on drugs. Aubry said drug rehabilitation works and there are studies to prove it.
Father Peter Young, who operates drug rehabilitation centers throughout the state, attested to the effectiveness of treating drug addiction as a disease and its ability to transform people into drug-free, productive, taxpaying citizens. At Father Young’s side (from left) are Assembly members Helene Weinstein and Grace Meng and Speaker Silver.
Silver (center) holds news conference at the Eleanor Young Center, an Albany alcohol and drug treatment outpatient program founded by Father Peter Young (center right), to call for reform of the Rockefeller Drug Law. The Speaker was joined by Assembly Correction Committee Chair Jeffrion Aubry; Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol; Majority Leader Ron Canestrari; Judiciary Committee Chair Helene Weinstein; and Assemblyman Jack McEneny.
Prior to the news conference, Silver, Father Young and the Assembly committee chairs spoke with program directors about their experience with successfully turning substance abusers into successful taxpayers.
Speaker Silver, flanked by Rockefeller Drug Law reform bill sponsors Jeffrion Aubry, and Judiciary Committee Chair Helene Weinstein talk with Father Peter Young about his highly successful drug treatment program. Young’s facilities across the state serve 4,000 people daily, helping former addicts and substance abusers become productive taxpayers through treatment, affordable housing and employment programs.
Silver and the Assembly delegation toured the facility with Father Young, CEO of Peter Young Housing, Industries and Treatment, and Sister Phyliss Herbert, who heads up Honor Court where clients receive drug counseling and vocational training services.
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Speaker Silver (center) held a Capitol news conference to announce the passage of the Assembly’s Rockefeller Drug Law reform legislation. The bill returns judicial sentencing discretion, providing rehabilitation programs for non-violent drug offenders as an alternative to incarceration.


Drop The Rock Advocacy Day

Click here to view Speaker's address to rally in Albany

Silver, Assembly Hail Progress in Ten-Year Battle to Reform Rockefeller Drug Laws
March 27, 2009
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Marking a major step forward in the decade long push by the New York State Assembly to transform New York's approach to drug addiction, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Corrections Committee Chair Jeffrion Aubry, Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol and Judiciary Committee Chair Helene Weinstein today announced a three-way agreement with the Governor and Senate - more -

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Speaker Silver, Assembly Criminal Justice Committees Chairs, Visit Highly Successful Albany Drug Rehabilitation Center
February 25, 2009
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Calling it an important opportunity to see first-hand the type of successful, cost-effective programs that can turn low-level non-violent offenders from prisoners to productive, taxpaying citizens, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and key legislative leaders visited an Albany outpatient drug rehabilitation center Wednesday morning, to discuss the need for comprehensive Rockefeller Drug Law reform. - more -

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Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Floor Debate

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