Pubdate: Mon, 26 Dec 2005
Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
Copyright: 2005 The Des Moines Register.
Contact:  http://desmoinesregister.com/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/123
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

STEP UP FUNDING FOR DRUG TREATMENT

Continued Abuse Means Higher Costs, Shattered Lives

Iowa has the fourth-highest rate of methamphetamine  addiction in the
country.

So what have Iowa lawmakers done?

They criminalized cold medicine and instituted tougher  prison
sentences --but then scrimped on drug-treatment  programs.

It has the makings of a "This is Your Legislature on  Drugs"
commercial.

It makes absolutely no sense to get tough on drug  making, use and
sale without ensuring Iowans have  adequate access to drug-treatment
programs to help them  get clean, keep their families intact and avoid
prison  stays that cost taxpayers millions.

It's time for a little Iowa common sense on this issue.

Attorney General Tom Miller is providing it. He's once  again asking
lawmakers to increase spending on  substance-abuse treatment. This
year his proposal  requests $17 million for drug courts and programs
that  serve drug-addicted parents.

His proposal makes a strong case for why Iowa needs to  spend more to
get users help.

The Legislature earlier this year adopted a law to  limit sales of
medicines containing pseudoephedrine, an  ingredient used to make
meth. That's resulted in a  decline in meth labs, Miller said, but the
demand for  meth hasn't decreased. Drug-related child abuse is on  the
rise. About half of all child-welfare cases are  meth-related. And
about 80 percent of prisoners have  been identified as having a
substance-abuse problem.

"The No. 1 thing we can do to fight crime is to fight  drugs, and the
No. 1 thing we can do to fight drugs is  to do a better job with drug
treatment," Miller said.

But Iowa is doing worse, not better, on that front.  State spending
for drug treatment has declined 13  percent since 2001. According to a
University of  Northern Iowa study, 15 percent of Iowa's population
needs drug or alcohol treatment, but only 3 percent  receive it in a
given year.

Not spending on treatment may look penny-wise, but it's  pound
foolish. Miller cites studies demonstrating that  each dollar invested
in in-patient treatment had an  economic return of over $9. Outpatient
treatment  returned $23.

And treatment works. One study found 65.5 percent of  meth users
remained abstinent six months after  treatment, compared to only 53.3
percent of marijuana  users. And the longer someone is in treatment,
the  higher the success rates.

Iowa's drug problem costs taxpayers through prison and  human-services
expenditures, clogged courts, lost wages  and increased violent
crimes. It's time to take a sober  look at expanding treatment as a
way to head off the  costly consequences of continued drug abuse.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin