Pubdate: Tue, 30 Jan 2001
Source: Deseret News (UT)
Copyright: 2001 Deseret News Publishing Corp.
Contact:  30 East 100 South., P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110
Website: http://www.desnews.com/
Author: Stephen Speckman

WEB EXTRA: FIGHTING DRUGS IS COSTLY FOR UTAH

Utah ranked 15th in the country in 1998 when it came to using state funds 
to fight substance abuse.

According to figures released Monday by the National Center on Addiction 
and Substance Abuse, Utah spent nearly $500 million, 11.7 percent of its 
state budget, to tackle what the center calls "the elephant in the living 
room of state government." The state ranked 28th in per capita spending at 
$242 per resident for the war on drugs. That same year, the state spent 
$643 million on higher education, $443 million on transportation and $189 
million on Medicaid.

The figures are part of a three-year, state-by-state study, titled 
"Shoveling Up: The Impact of Substance Abuse on State Budgets."

"This report is a clarion call for a revolution in the way governors and 
state legislators think about and confront substance abuse and addiction," 
said Joseph A. Coalifying, the center's president. "Governors who want to 
curb child abuse, teen pregnancy and domestic violence and further reduce 
welfare rolls must face up to this reality: Unless they prevent and treat 
alcohol and drug-abuse addiction, their other well-intentioned efforts are 
doomed."

In Utah, only four cents of each dollar spent on substance abuse went 
toward prevention and treatment. The rest was what the center termed "to 
shovel up the wreckage of substance abuse and addiction," which includes 
impact on the justice and education systems and health issues.

The Legislature is considering the governor's request for an additional 
$3.4 million for drug courts, a state program for non-felony drug offenders 
seeking help. If arrested on a substance-abuse charge in certain 
jurisdictions, the suspect can plead guilty and agree to enter a treatment 
program under close supervision and constant contact with a judge. If they 
violate the agreement, they go to jail.

"It's a really neat program," said Lynne Ward, director for the Governor's 
Office of Planning and Budget. So far, she said, the program has shown a 92 
percent success rate, meaning people are cleaning up their lives and, if 
they have children, keeping them out of state hands. "It's changing their 
lives. They feel like somebody really cares about them."

In order to reduce crime, says the center, states need to provide treatment 
and training to drug- and alcohol-abusing prisoners who will return to a 
life of criminal activity unless they leave prison substance-free or enter 
a treatment program.

Nationwide, states spent $81.3 billion or 13.1 percent of their budgets in 
1998 on substance abuse and addiction. Total state spending was $620 
billion. New York, Massachusetts and California spent the most on substance 
abuse. Using 1995 figures, estimates place overall federal, state and local 
costs of drug and alcohol use at $277 billion annually, including social 
programs and law enforcement.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth