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. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin