ABOUT-FACE FOR DRUG USERS

California, that incubator of change, inaugurated a great experiment this
month. People arrested in the state for drug possession - an estimated
37,000 this year - will be sent to treatment centers rather than prison.

Last year, Californians passed Proposition 36, which specified first- or
second-time nonviolent drug offenders would be treated, not jailed.
Proponents hailed it as a major move away from the "war" image and toward
treating drug use with a public-health strategy.

Up to now, simply shunting such offenders off to prison has done relatively
little to curb drug use. For many of them, only mandatory treatment holds
out hope of breaking their habits.

Whether that hope is fully realized depends largely on the desire and
attitude of the person being treated, and on the skill of drug counselors.
But it also depends on the resources that California's counties bring to
the task.

Plenty of warnings were sounded before the July 1 kickoff. Most had to do
with funding - funding for drug testing to be sure people stay clean, or
for counselors to staff already-stretched drug-rehab centers.

Those warnings were valid. State and local officials should closely watch
the situation to see where added resources may be needed.

Meanwhile, the country will be watching to see how this right-minded
experiment plays out.