Pubdate: Sun, 08 Jul 2001
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2001, The Tribune Co.
Contact:  http://www.tampatrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446

A DRUG TREATMENT LAW WORTH WATCHING

On July 1 California began a noble experiment.

Back in November its voters decided they were willing to make the 
criminal justice system the primary source of drug treatment in the 
state to the tune of $120 million a year. Proposition 36, which was 
approved by 61 percent of voters, will require treatment instead of 
jail time for most first- and second-time drug offenders.

Because California is the most populous state, the nation will be 
watching to see what happens there. Residents of Florida should pay 
particular attention because there is a nascent movement here to get 
voters to approve a measure modeled after California's Proposition 36 
that would require courts to offer treatment to certain drug 
offenders.

Supporters recently registered with the secretary of state's office 
in Tallahassee as the first step toward getting the constitutional 
amendment on the 2002 ballot. The ``Right to Treatment and 
Rehabilitation for Nonviolent Drug Offenders'' would force judges to 
grant treatment or rehabilitation, if they want it, to those charged 
with simple possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia.

Before California's law took effect on Sunday, Los Angeles County 
officials warned it needed more money. They have projected 17,000 
cases, and Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan, who supervises the 
county's drug courts, said: ``The county's going to go into debt. We 
just don't know how much.''

In other words, treatment may be cheaper in the long run than 
incarceration, but initial costs will be in addition to the cost of 
running the state prisons.

Also, many people who enter treatment go back to drugs, some dropping 
out before finishing their program. The high-profile cases of actor 
Robert Downey Jr. and baseball player Darryl Strawberry - individuals 
who had access to the best treatment available - remind us that 
treatment is no sure cure.

The voters in California, however, said they want to give drug 
rehabilitation a try, and they are willing to pay for it. Because of 
the size of this experiment, it will provide lessons for the rest of 
the nation, and we should monitor the results, good and bad, and 
learn from them.
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MAP posted-by: Kirk