IOWA DRUG POLICY NEW CHIEF JUSTICE SEES FUTURE FOR DRUG REHAB OVER JAIL.

The new chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court has some sage advice for
how the state should deal with illegal drug abuse.

In an interview to be broadcast on Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press"
program today, Chief Justice Louis Lavorato said Iowa should emphasize drug
treatment programs instead of prison for nonviolent criminals.

Lavorato cited referendums passed in several states that require treatment
rather than incarceration for nonviolent first and second offenders.

Iowa has a pilot drug court system but no statewide policy as yet.

"We're filling all these prisons and I just wonder how much of the
population we're going to put in prison," Lavorato said.

He's right to wonder, and he isn't alone.

Lavorato said Iowa's pilot program that provides drug offenders treatment
and counseling in hopes of avoiding prison is "the only thing that's been
working, really."

He called for talking about alternatives to the state's drug policy when
the Legislature convenes in January.

Lavorato also hinted that he will ask the Legislature to restore judges'
flexibility and discretion.

He did not mention the obvious, that most judges nationwide had sentencing
options before state politicians decided judicial inflexibility and
mandatory prison sentences were the solutions to crime.

But the inflexibility has only made the U.S. the world's biggest jailer,
without tackling the underlying cause of most crime, which is untreated
substance abuse.

Justice Lavorato plainly knows that, and Iowans would do well to ponder his
assessment of the situation.