Drug possession defendants to be referred to treatment

SANTA FE — First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said Monday that she is changing the office’s felony drug possession case policy to allow drug possession offenders to get treatment instead of incarceration.

Carmack-Altwies will transition from prosecuting these cases to referring offenders to diversion programs, according to a news release. About one-third of all cases in 1st Judicial District Court are felony drug possession cases, which “create an enormous backlog” in the court system, the release says.

“I am confident that reforming the drug possession prosecution policy will do much more to ensure the safety of our communities, shifting our resources away from people who need treatment rather than jail time and toward the effective prosecution of serious violent offenses,” Carmack-Altwies said in a statement.

For current cases, the office will attempt to plead felony possession charges down to misdemeanors. The policy does not apply to drug distribution or trafficking charges.