A CHANCE FOR A SOLID DRUG POLICY

When California voters approved Proposition 36 last year, they sent a
strong message that drug offenders -- users, not dealers -- need treatment
and not punishment. Now if only our leaders would get the message and
support recovering substance abusers in their efforts.

A mean-spirited little amendment dropped into the 1996 welfare-reform act
by Texas Sen. Phil Gramm denied food stamps and other federal benefits to
anyone convicted of a drug felony -- for life. Luckily the law allowed
states to opt out of the ban, and dozens have done so.

But California has not. Two years ago, the Sacramento Bee reported, the
state Legislature approved an opt-out bill, but it was vetoed by Gov. Gray
Davis, who has raked in contributions from prison-guard unions and law
enforcement over the years and fears looking soft on crime.

The governor was wrong. He commits a mistake common to politicians who fail
to see the big picture -- he doesn't differentiate between criminal drug
dealers who prey on addicts and the addicts themselves. The first group
belongs in jail and deserves the loss of federal benefits. The second group
needs help, not incarceration.

A new bill passed by the Assembly, AB767, would remedy our state's
wrongheaded policy toward drug offenders. The bill would maintain the
lifetime ban on federal assistance for drug thugs but would reinstate those
benefits for people who really need them -- former drug users who are clean
and enrolled in treatment programs.

This is no go-easy-on-druggies bill. Drug felons would retain eligibility
for food stamps only as long as they stay drug-free. They would be required
to pass periodic drug tests, and failing the tests or refusing to take them
would result in automatic loss of benefits. Refusing to participate in
ongoing drug treatment would also result in the loss of benefits. The bill
is sponsored by Los Angeles Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg and co-sponsored
by local Assemblymembers Carole Migden and Kevin Shelley.

Passage of AB767 is especially needed because Proposition 36 will take
effect July 1, and drug users who are trying to turn their lives around
will have the opportunity to opt for treatment instead of prison. But to
successfully undergo a drug-treatment program, former users need the
financial assistance provided by food stamps and other forms of welfare.
Such assistance would provide a stabilizing influence at a time when former
offenders will be attempting to break old habits and focus on making good
decisions. Depriving them of it will heighten the kind of stress that leads
to reverting to drugs.

The food stamps are a federal expenditure and cost the state nothing, while
the social benefit in providing them for clean drug felons is massive.
Thousands of people who otherwise might be in prison or trapped in a cycle
of drug abuse instead could flourish as productive members of our communities.

If AB767 passes the Senate, it will end up on the governor's desk.
California voters have provided a smart and fair framework for a workable
drug policy. Our senators and our governor should commit to it.