Pubdate: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 Source: Plain Dealer, The (OH) Copyright: 2001 The Plain Dealer Contact: http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/today/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/342 Author: T.C. Brown RECORDS REVEAL DRUG ISSUE'S FOES IN TAFT ADMINISTRATION Columbus -- State officials want to keep an initiative off the November ballot that would allow first-time drug offenders to get treatment in lieu of jail, proponents of the measure said yesterday. Documents obtained by the Ohio Campaign for New Drug Policies indicate that Luceille Fleming, director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, is leading the charge. "The first line and best possible defense against the proposed constitutional amendment is to keep it off the ballot," Fleming wrote to Greg Moody, Gov. Bob Taft's executive assistant for Health and Human Services, in a Sept. 13 memo. Ed Orlett, the ballot initiative's campaign manager, said the state is plotting to block the measure and hopes to confuse and scare voters. "They are trying to violate the rights of Ohioans by denying them access to amending the Constitution by petition," Orlett said. "And they are doing it at taxpayer's expense." Other records show that the state has developed a "playbook" to fight the issue. One suggestion included development of a separate ballot measure by state officials to trump the issue sponsored by the Campaign for New Drug Policies, raising some concern over how to proceed if voters approved both measures. In a Nov. 7 meeting involving First Lady Hope Taft and some of the governor's staff, officials discussed consulting with Taft's chief legal counsel about how far they could go in opposing the issue, according to records. Stacey Frohnapfel, a spokeswoman for Fleming, referred questions to Taft's spokesman Joe Andrews. "I'm not sure there is an active effort to keep it off the ballot," Andrews said. "The governor has asked every interested entity to look into it to see where it stands and how it will affect Ohio." Andrews said Taft's legal counsel has cleared discussions because they involve an investigation, "as opposed to a campaign against it." State officials are concerned that mandating treatment for offenders could displace nonoffenders who are receiving drug treatment, Andrews said. Attorney General Betty Montgomery tentatively approved summary language for the ballot measure yesterday, pending verification of 100 sample signatures. Proponents must gather 335,000 signatures for the issue to reach the November ballot. If approved by voters, first- and second-time drug offenders would receive treatment instead of jail time if there were no convictions for drug sales or violent crimes. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth