Pubdate: Sun, 21 Jan 2001 Source: Idaho State Journal (ID) Copyright: 2001 Idaho State Journal Contact: PO Box 431, Pocatello ID 83204 Fax: 208-233-8007 Website: http://www.journalnet.com/ EXPERIMENTING WITH DRUG POLICY MUST STOP It's time for Idaho and other states to stop experimenting with drugs. That phrase may conjure up images of teens smoking pot in garages, but it may be that the more dangerous experimentation has been our scattershot efforts to enact and enforce legislation dealing with drug offenders. No, we're not in favor of legalization, nor of turning a blind eye to the distribution or use of illicit drugs. But right now, Idaho has the fastest growing prison population in the nation. Meanwhile, southeast Idaho is battling the pernicious spread of methamphetamine and its presence on the drug corridor between Mexico and Canada. Drug laws stack up, money pours in from federal grants and matching programs to fight controlled substances, and the Legislature has swerved between harsh penalties for drug offenders and allowing districts to set up drug treatment courts, but not providing sufficient funds. We're on the cusp of building another jail to handle overflow from our brand new $20 million detention center. Bannock County has turned to warehousing female inmates at out-of-state, for-profit jails because we don't have room for them and it is, in fact, cheaper than building housing for them here. Clearly, what we're doing doesn't work, and it drains the coffers and morale of counties that would truly like to see their drug problem disappear. Enough. Idaho needs to decide whether we're going to prosecute drug offenders or treat them. Either system can work, but the state has to buy in completely -- and neither solution is cheap. If we're committed to prosecution of drug offenses, we have to face the fact that methamphetamine is a growth industry. We need to direct enough money to police and drug task forces to track down and shut down meth production labs, sales and buyers. We need manpower and support resources. We will also need more jail facilities, because a serious effort at drug policy enforcement is going to land a lot more people in jail. As long as we're in the business of building jails, county agencies might look to the bottom line and consider operating for-profit jails, housing inmates from other counties and states. Idaho isn't the only state that has too few beds for too many prisoners. But if we recognize drug use as a social disease with a cure, we may be able to slow the tide swamping our jails. Drug treatment courts, which work effectively around the nation, take minor drug offenders -- users, not traffickers -- and offer them suspended sentences in exchange for cleaning up in a treatment program. It's an expensive solution, requiring support structure from hospitals and mental health agencies, but it will put more Idahoans back into circulation as productive citizens without exposing them to the myriad of problems in the prison culture. We will have to seek federal grant monies and cash support from the Legislature. In any case, Idaho needs to get serious about its policies toward drug use and sales, and that's not a move that can begin in Boise. It has to happen right here at home. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth