Pubdate: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 Source: Washington Post (DC) Section: Law and Order: The Justice Department Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071 Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Author: Lorraine Adams, and David A. Vise, Washington Post Staff Writers GENERAL'S DRUG TREATMENT PLEA Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star general, did two combat tours in Vietnam. His hair is steel gray, his chin firm. He may seem an unlikely advocate for drug treatment, but this week at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, that's what the White House drug control policy director will be. A three-day conference of nearly 1,000 criminal justice officials from across the nation begins today. The Clinton administration is arguing that America cannot incarcerate its way out of the drug and crime problem. About 85 percent of the prison population reports substance abuse problems. At $20,000 per inmate annually, prison is a costly and treatment-free solution. It returns more than 500,000 inmates a year to the streets, where, McCaffrey said, most sink back into addiction and crime. "This is not a 'soft on crime' issue," McCaffrey told reporters at a briefing yesterday. Among the conference's goals is to persuade states that in-prison treatment, at an estimated $3,000 to $8,000 per inmate, would lead to lower recidivism and extensive savings. [snip] - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D