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