Pubdate: Sun, 25 Oct 2009 Source: Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus,GA) Copyright: 2009 Ledger-Enquirer Contact: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/enquirer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237 Author: Dusty Nix DRUGS, CRIME, COMMON SENSE It's true for a community and it's true for a country: We can't jail our way out of drug abuse. If anything has become crystal clear in the decades since the phrase "war on drugs" became part of the national vernacular, it's that undeniable reality. It's part of the reason Columbus Mayor Jim Wetherington, with years of experience as a police officer, police chief and commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections, is so adamant about the distinction between law enforcement and crime prevention. Whether the mayor manages to get the crime prevention panel and director he's been lobbying for remains to be seen. But his insistence that prevention of crime and responses to crime are very different things is a point that too often gets lost in the discussion. In recent days, as part of our annual Red Ribbon Week focus on substance abuse and its consequences, you've seen real-life stories of people caught in the drug snare -- as users, as the friends or loved ones of users, as victims of drug-related crime. (Too often, the latter two categories overlap.) Some of these stories are of the bleak, dead-end variety; others are inspiring accounts of personal triumph over addiction and hopelessness. Of course law enforcement and incarceration often must be part of the process. Given the collateral damage of substance abuse on others besides the abusers themselves, it would be foolish to suggest otherwise. But arrest and jail, while they can sometimes begin the rehabilitation process, are seldom enough to right a life gone wrong as a consequence of addiction. And while there will always be that mindset that scorns alternative approaches to drug abuse, this isn't a matter of coddling, but of common sense. It's also a matter of economic sense. As detailed in Tim Chitwood's Thursday report on jail detox and subsequent treatment alternatives, incarcerating somebody for a drug offense is an expensive proposition for taxpayers right from the start. And that's just for occupying a bed. Prisoners are not just housed; they also must be treated for the health effects of drug abuse -- dental problems, infection, malnutrition, alcohol or other kinds of poisoning ... the list is drearily familiar, and incredibly costly. So, of course, are the effects on others of drug abusers who do their jail time and fall back into old habits: thefts, prostitution and other crimes committed to get drug money; substance abuse-fueled violence, including increased rates of domestic violence; the public safety menace of drunk and drugged drivers. Rehabilitation and other support programs as alternatives to staying behind bars are approaches we should consider not just acceptable, but essential. Every human being saved from drugs and crime is not just a net savings in fiscal and human costs, but someone who contributes -- to the tax digest and to the culture. And, as we've seen, can be a living object lesson for others. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D