Pubdate: Sat, 04 Nov 2000 Source: Ventura County Star (CA) Copyright: 2000, Ventura County Star Contact: P.O. Box 6711, Ventura CA 93006 Fax: (805) 650-2950 Website: http://www.staronline.com/ Bookmark: For Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act items: http://www.mapinc.org/prop36.htm NEW TACTIC NEEDED IN WAR ON DRUGS PROP. 36: It's time to try treatment, rather than automatic incarceration, for minor offenders. Over the past decade, America's war on drugs has accomplished few of its goals. Drug use has not diminished. Drug availability has not diminished. Drugs such as heroin and cocaine are now cheaper and more pure than before the drug war was launched. Efforts to quash production in South and Central America have merely moved it from one country to another, and have become increasingly militarized. The drug war has, however, had one unambiguous consequence:It has stuffed the nation's jails and prisons with men and women convicted of possessing relatively modest quantities of drugs for personal use. In California, more than 12 percent of the prison population, nearly 20,000 convicts, is incarcerated for simple drug possession, at an average annual cost of more than $23,000 per inmate. Offered virtually nothing in the way of treatment or rehabilitation, these offenders will emerge from custody with their addictions intact, and likely will go on to re-offend. According to the Department of Corrections, nearly half of the more than 60,000 parole violators in the state each year are returned to custody because of drug possession. Given this record of costly failure, it's time to try something new. Proposition 36 represents a welcome departure from the wasteful and ineffective policies that prevail today, and the Star recommends a Yes vote. The initiative would require probation and enrollment in a state-licensed drug-treatment program for many of those convicted of possession or use of controlled substances. It authorizes $120 million to be budgeted each year through 2006 to help counties cope with the cost of treatment, training, counseling and probation supervision. In subsequent years, the Legislature would set the funding level. The diversion from incarceration into treatment would not apply to those convicted of using a firearm during the crime, parole violators with a previous conviction for a serious or violent crime, and most third-strike offenders. It also would not apply in cases involving drug sale or production. The initiative is narrowly drawn to address only the most minor of drug crimes: simple possession or use by nonviolent offenders. Yet despite being applicable to only this restricted class of criminals, the initiative promises a huge savings -- in both human and financial terms. According to the Legislative Analyst, Proposition 36 would save the state $200 million to $250 million annually in prison operations costs, reduce parole costs by another $25 million a year, and would enable the state to avoid $450 million to $550 million in one-time prison construction costs. Local agencies would also save money, through reduced expenditures for jail operations, trial court operation, prosecution and public defenders. Even after subtracting the $120 million in new aid to counties, the state stands to save $100 million to $150 million a year, with local savings of at least $40 million statewide. The savings cannot be reckoned only in monetary terms. As many as 24,000 offenders a year would be given a chance at treatment and rehabilitation, rather than being locked up. Some will no doubt fail and end up behind bars again. But many of them --mothers and fathers, potentially productive workers -- will succeed, and will then be able to assume a valuable role in their families and in society. We've tried locking up drug offenders, and all we've accomplished is to pack our prisons. It's time to try attacking the drug problem itself, rather than just the symptoms. That means treatment, not just incarceration. Proposition 36 is a careful and promising step in that direction. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe