SENATE RACE TURNS PARTY DRUG DEBATE UPSIDE DOWN

Politics: Campbell, The Republican, Says The Nation Should Try Distribution
Of Narcotics And Improved Treatment. Feinstein Wants Laws Made Tougher.

Almost a year ago, in one of the first pronouncements of his campaign, U.S.
Senate candidate Tom Campbell endorsed a politically perilous proposition: a
government experiment in drug distribution to treat addicts and cut crime.

"It is absolutely essential to discuss alternatives to our drug problem
because the present system is not working," said the Republican congressman
from San Jose. "And if you are not willing to propose alternatives, you
should not call yourself a leader."

On many matters of law and order, such as gun control and capital
punishment, Campbell and opponent Sen. Dianne Feinstein largely agree. Where
they differ most is on fighting drug use--and here the GOP challenger has
staked out a position well to the left of the Democratic incumbent.

He argues that America has lost its "war on drugs" and must spend far more
on treatment and less on incarceration. She supports making drug laws even
tougher, including those involving possession.

He endorses Proposition 36, a November ballot initiative that would send
nonviolent drug offenders to treatment rather than to prison. She opposes
it, saying the measure would undermine the state's drug courts.

He has criticized Congress' recent decision to earmark as much as $1.3
billion to fight drug lords in Colombia, saying it could lead to another
Vietnam War. She strongly backed the action as part of the ongoing fight
against trafficking.

Feinstein's stands have helped her in the polls and in winning
law-enforcement endorsements.

"Republicans can often say the Democrats are not strong enough on
law-and-order issues, but Feinstein has taken that issue away from
Campbell," said Mark Baldassare, executive director of the nonpartisan
Public Policy Institute of California.

Indeed, the two largely agree on many criminal justice issues.

Feinstein, for example, is widely known as a champion of tough legislation
to restrict guns. She fought the gun lobby to win passage of a landmark ban
on assault weapons. And she continues to push for federal gun registration
and licensing.

Addressing this year's Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles,
Feinstein devoted almost an entire speech to the importance of controlling
weapons to reduce crime.

Campbell also supports gun controls but argues that state registration and
licensing are sufficient. The same holds true for laws on concealed weapons,
he says.

"It is up to the states to adopt rules regarding concealed handguns,"
Campbell says on his campaign Web site. "Of course, whether a ban would have
the desired effect is a matter of debate."

Both Feinstein and Campbell also support capital punishment. Campbell has
proposed the death penalty for anyone discharging a firearm in the
commission of a felony or dealing drugs to children younger than 12.

But in 1990, he opposed a bill increasing the number of federal crimes
subject to the death penalty because of concerns that the legislation
violated constitutional guarantees of due process.

Feinstein, an opponent of the death penalty early in her 30-year political
career, is now a strong proponent. In her 1994 reelection campaign, she
proposed federal legislation making carjacking a capital offense when it
results in a fatality.

So the greatest area of disagreement between Feinstein and Campbell is the
nation's drug problem, a topic that is rarely so front and center in
political debates.

Campbell made the issue prominent in the Senate race by saying, as he has
for years as a congressman, that he would support a government experiment in
dispensing drugs--such as heroin--with the goal of weaning people from
addiction and eliminating the need to commit crime. Then, several months
ago, he broadened the debate to take on the nation's drug policies.

Campbell said anti-drug efforts were most successful in the 1970s, when the
emphasis was on treatment and prevention rather than intervention. Now, he
said, the nation's policies focus on interdiction, and not only fail to
reduce drug abuse, but also result in the locking up of thousands of
addicts--many of them members of minority groups--for nonviolent offenses.

"Everyone wants the drug dealers in jail," Campbell says in a TV ad. "But
for victims of the dealers, let's rehabilitate, not incarcerate.

"Drugs are a health problem," he adds. "Treat the victims of drugs at public
health clinics under a doctor's supervision. After all, what would you want
for your child?"

Peter Reuter, a professor of public policy at the University of Maryland,
said the vast majority of experts in the drug policy field agree with
Campbell's assessment that America's hard-line approach to drug abuse has
been unsuccessful.

"We have a policy that is . . . divisive, expensive and leaves us with the
Western world's worst drug problem," said Reuter.

The idea of providing drugs to addicts, however, is controversial even among
experts who favor increased emphasis on treatment.

Mimi Silbert, founder of the Delancey Street Foundation, said her 30 years
with the San Francisco-based rehabilitation program convinces her that the
way to address America's drug problem is to attack the range of social and
economic factors that drive people, and sometimes generations of families,
to addiction and crime.

"If I thought giving drugs to people would give them the best life they
possibly can have, then I would. But I don't think that's true," Silbert
said. Neither does Feinstein.

She agrees that more money should go to treat addicts and drug prevention
and said she would support increasing the allocation for such programs from
one-third of federal anti-drug spending to half.

Feinstein said she does not agree that government should even experiment
with treatment programs that dispense drugs.

"I would agree the drug war has not been won," she said Friday. But, she
quickly added, "I would also say, don't throw in the towel."

Criminal Justice Issues

While other topics have drawn more attention in their contest, U.S. Sen.
Dianne Feinstein and challenger Rep. Tom Campbell have strong views on
criminal justice issues.

DEATH PENALTY FEINSTEIN: Supports capital punishment. A onetime opponent of
the death penalty, she is now a strong proponent and authored law making
carjacking a capital crime when it results in a death.

CAMPBELL: Supports capital punishment and proposed it for discharging a
firearm in commission of felony or dealing drugs to children under 12. Once
opposed increasing the number of federal crimes subject to the death penalty
because of concerns about due process.

GUN CONTROL

FEINSTEIN: Supports tough legislation to restrict guns and championed
passage of a landmark ban on assault weapons. Continues to push for federal
gun registration and licensing.

CAMPBELL: Supports gun controls but says state registration and licensing
are sufficient. Believes the same holds true for laws on concealed weapons.

DRUGS

FEINSTEIN: Supports increase in drug treatment programs but also favors
tough drug laws including those on possession.

* Supports recent decision by Congress to spend up to $1.3 billion to fight
drug lords in Colombia.

* Opposes Proposition 36, the November ballot initiative that would send
nonviolent drug offenders to treatment rather than prison.
Believes drug courts are working and judges should not be limited in
their sentencing options.

CAMPBELL: Supports significant increase in drug treatment programs and
tougher punishment for drug dealers.

* Opposes U.S. intervention to fight drug lords in Colombia, saying it could
lead to another Vietnam War.

* Supports Proposition 36, arguing that too many people--many of them
minorities--are being sent to prison for nonviolent drug offenses.