Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jan 2004
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page: B05
Copyright: 2004 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Tim Craig
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

EHRLICH SEEKS DIVERSION PROGRAM FOR DRUG ABUSERS

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is seeking to change the way Maryland's justice 
system deals with substance abuse by making it easier for some drug 
offenders to get treatment instead of a criminal record.

Ehrlich, who last year became the first Republican governor in the country 
to sign a medical marijuana bill, is asking the General Assembly to pass 
legislation establishing guidelines for prosecutors who want to keep 
nonviolent drug offenders out of jail or off probation.

While the first phase of the program would be limited, Ehrlich said he 
hopes the approach, commonly known as diversion, would be the first step 
toward revamping the state's attitudes toward drug abuse.

"Twenty-five years ago, this would be a lot more difficult to do," Ehrlich 
said. "But attitudes about the war on drugs are changing."

The measure is winning bipartisan support in the General Assembly. States 
across the country are turning to drug treatment as a cheaper and more 
effective way of dealing with substance abuse.

Ehrlich's support also signals a growing willingness among Republicans -- 
who once demanded stiff sentences for drug crimes -- to adopt a more 
moderate approach to the problem. "What I am seeing is failure in what we 
are doing now. It is like throwing good money after bad because we are not 
getting good results," said Maryland Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R-Harford). "If you 
are going to throw money at something to fix it, throw money at something 
that works. They have a much better success rate with treatment then they 
do with keeping people in jail."

Some Republican lawmakers, though, expressed concern that such measures 
could undermine the nation's drug laws. "My constituents want law and 
order," said Sen. Richard F. Colburn (R-Dorchester), who is seeking to 
unseat U.S. Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R) in the March primary. Colburn added 
that he had not yet read the bill.

About one-fourth of the 23,000 inmates housed by the Maryland Department of 
Corrections and Public Safety last fall were incarcerated on drug charges, 
said Mark Vernarelli, the department's spokesman. While drug treatment can 
cost $1,000 to $7,000 for each patient, it costs as much as $43,000 a year 
to keep someone imprisoned, according to the state Alcohol and Drug Abuse 
Administration.

While some counties offer such diversion programs as drug courts, 
administration officials say this would be the first structured, statewide 
program that ensures supervised treatment.

Under the program, prosecutors would be able to evaluate offenders to 
determine whether they can be successfully treated for drug abuse. Once 
candidates are identified, they would be referred to the state Department 
of Health and Mental Hygiene, which would then assign them to a drug 
treatment facility. The program would also be open to prisoners seeking parole.

The prosecutor, who would be able to monitor an offender's progress, would 
then place the defendant's criminal charge on an inactive docket so it 
could be expunged after three years.

"It gives the individual a chance to engage in treatment and come back from 
treatment and not get slammed for it" when trying to get a job, said Alan 
Woods, director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

The governor has included about $8 million in his budget, about half of 
which would pay for treatment slots for 98 adults and 310 juveniles to 
start the program.

The governor's capital budget, released yesterday, also calls for building 
a prison, causing some advocates of drug policy reform to question his 
commitment to reducing the inmate population. Advocates also worry that 
Ehrlich's drug treatment proposal gives too much discretion to prosecutors, 
meaning that some could continue to insist on placing most nonviolent drug 
users on probation or in jail.

But several Democratic lawmakers say Ehrlich should be applauded for his 
efforts.

"The concept . . . is something a lot of Democrats have been looking at for 
a long time and pushing for," said Del. Pauline H. Menes, a Prince George's 
Democrat who heads the House Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 
"But what is new is a Republican governor who has made promises to move in 
this direction, and has put money into the budget to get there."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom