DRUG AMENDMENT HAS FOES

SANFORD -- A proposed state constitutional amendment that would give
nonviolent drug users the option of treatment over jail is dangerous and
misleading, local and state law-enforcement officials warned Wednesday.

Treatment already is an option in the state's 50 drug courts, said state
drug czar Jim McDonough. The key difference would be that people who opt
for treatment under the proposed amendment could not be prosecuted, whether
they completed the drug treatment or not.

"This is an absolute hoax," McDonough said.

But a proponent of the amendment said McDonough and others are the ones who
are misleading people.

"That's just spin to distract you from the law," said Sydney P. Smith,
chairman of the Florida Campaign for New Drug Policies.

Smith said the amendment would not allow offenders to simply walk
away.Anyone who does not complete the program or is deemed untreatable
would be sent back into the justice system, he said.

But critics say the amendment also would let offenders off the hook after
18 months, even if treatment is not completed.

Both sides agreed that drug offenders who receive treatment are much less
likely to commit future crimes.

Proponents have collected about 50,000 signatures, and now the initiative
must pass a legal review by the Florida Attorney General and state Supreme
Court. If it passes the review, proponents must gather about 488,000
signatures to get it on the November 2002 ballot.

The proposition is similar to one passed by California voters last year and
is being supported by the same three wealthy businessmen who want to do
away with drug laws, said U.S. Rep. Ric Keller, R-Orlando.

The state's sheriffs have passed a resolution opposing the measure, said
Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger. Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary
called the amendment "bunk."

"I would urge my supporters not to support this and better yet to tell
these people to stay the hell out of Florida," Beary said.