EDITORIAL: Tough-sounding drug law has flaws

Heroin use by young people on Long Island is so troubling that the impulse is to try anything possible to combat it. But some things are better left undone.

That's the case with legislation to expand the current charge of manslaughter to cover selling a drug that causes an overdose death. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington) and backed by Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice, has the attractive feel of tough law enforcement.

But the proposed second-degree manslaughter charge - a felony punishable by 3 1/2 to 9 years - would be difficult to prove and often inapplicable. It would apply only to adults with at least one prior drug conviction. And prosecutors would have to prove that the drugs a defendant sold contributed to the death of a person who is likely to have used various drugs bought from various sources over a period of time.

Part of establishing that link would be proving that the defendant sold drugs. That's a felony that carries significant prison time. There's little need to gild the lily.

Still, proponents say the manslaughter charge would be a deterrent and give prosecutors additional leverage useful to get defendants to inform on their partners in crime. But dealers who are undeterred by the ever-present possibility of prison for selling drugs aren't likely to see the light because of the prospect of yet another charge. hN