Pubdate: 3 Sep 1999 Source: Miami Herald (FL) Copyright: 1999 The Miami Herald Contact: One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693 Fax: (305) 376-8950 Website: http://www.herald.com/ Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?mherald Author: Ana Acle, Herald Staff Writer GOV. BUSH'S ANTI-DRUG PLAN STIRS VARIED REACTIONS A national advocacy group on Thursday welcomed the goals in Gov. Jeb Bush's $500 million anti-drug program, but local experts disagree on the best way to reduce the number of South Florida's drug addicts. A Veterans Administration Medical Center physician said Miami-Dade County alone could use all the 9,400 beds the governor wants to add statewide. The Miami-Dade County director of rehabilitative services suggested increasing funding to treat the average person. No specifics from Bush Bush did not spell out specifics for South Florida, except to say he plans to add three new law enforcement units in Central and South Florida. More details will be announced in Miami and Tampa on Sept. 10, a spokeswoman for the governor said. Nevertheless, the New York City-based Partnership for a Drug-Free America -- whose anti-drug advertising campaigns have caught the nation's attention -- lauded the governor's proposal as "aggressive" and "bold." The state plan specifies a goal to reduce by half the number of drug users statewide -- now estimated at 1.2 million people - -- by 2005. "I think that speaks to the seriousness of the plan," said Steve Dnistrian, the group's executive vice president. "It's easy to put words on paper, but when you put numbers with goals and time lines, that speaks volumes. "Comparatively looking at what other states are doing, this is exceptionally comprehensive," he said. "You don't see a lot of states putting drug treatment programs in their prisons." Stop the demand In order to stop the supply of drugs, Dnistrian said, one must stop the demand. And in order to stop the demand, he said, one must treat drug addicts at both ends of the spectrum, from teens who start using drugs to heavy users who wind up incarcerated. The county has already been on the forefront by implementing drug courts and prison treatment programs, said Dr. Carolina Montoya, a clinical psychiatrist and director of the Miami-Dade County Office of Rehabilitative Services. "Governor Bush's efforts would be best served with the typical person, the early user, not the person who reaches the criminal justice system," Montoya said. "We certainly have to keep those efforts going, but what has lost funding over the years has been the community-based efforts." In recent years, grants have been earmarked for women, children, prisoners and homeless people with drug problems, Montoya she said. "The plan would be good if money was earmarked for no one," she said. This would better help the average person seeking treatment for crack cocaine, the drug of choice among Dade addicts seeking help. In the past year, Montoya's office made 16,000 referrals. Of those, 900 were directed to residential centers and 1,100 to prison programs. (The numbers include repeat visits.) Miami-Dade's need Dr. Moraima Trujillo, chief of general psychiatry at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, said she would like to see the state's proposed 9,400 beds in Miami-Dade County alone. Patients who find an open slot now don't stay long enough for proper treatment, Trujillo said. The average patient stays four days instead of several months for detoxification and then inpatient or outpatient care. "In my clinical experience, for them to say no to drugs, they must stay clean for 12 months," Trujillo said. Relapse occurs in as many as 50 percent of the patients. In Broward County, Circuit Court Judge Melanie May headed a task force that researched ways to help drug addicts in an effort to reduce crime. A primary focus, May said, was obtaining beds to treat addicted convicts. "We need a total of 307 and we have 178," she said, adding that the Department of Corrections recently funded an additional 75, leaving a deficit of 54. That's just in the criminal justice system. Other people need help. At The Starting Place, a Hollywood drug treatment program for adolescents between the ages of 9 and 18, there is almost always a waiting list for the program's 40 beds and the 40 spots in day treatment, said Mark Casale, associate director. Casale said space is as much a premium as the additional beds. "It's not just a matter of saying go ahead and increase your bed space and we'll solve the problem," he said. "It's a matter of facilities having space." Still, he applauded Bush's infusion of funding. "Everybody's excited about it. It's a great opportunity. When was the last time this happened?" Herald staff writers Julie Gallego and Shari Rudavsky contributed to this report. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea