OFFERING HOPE

New Drug Court An Optimistic Way To Approach Chronic Problems

Maine is taking a giant step in the direction of rehabilitation and hope,
and away from punishment and futility, with its new Adult Drug Treatment Court.

The court, scheduled to start meeting in April in York and five other
counties, will offer intense, relentless supervision of criminal defendants
with drug and alcohol problems. Instead of spending time in jail,
participants will spend it talking to a judge, a drug treatment counselor,
a probation officer, a domestic violence support group and others. There
will be random drug tests and requirements to compensate victims.

The key word here is accountability. By scheduling regular hearings before
a judge - they'll be weekly at first - and by clearly spelling out
requirements for treatment and compensation, the court won't let defendants
get away with much. It won't let them slip out of sight following a plea
bargain or a short jail term.

Prosecutors, police and others who worked on the proposal don't expect it
to work in every case, or even in most. Some people are so addicted to
drugs or alcohol or trouble that they'll make the wrong decisions every
time and wind up behind bars despite a large heaping of help from the system.

But if the program can change the lives of some people who've robbed,
burglarized, assaulted and otherwise abused others while under the
influence, it will be worth the effort. If it persuades a few offenders to
straighten up, get jobs, apologize to their victims and treat their kids
right, it will improve the lives and prospects of victims, defendants'
families, and the community at large.

Even if it has a spotty record, the program - to be funded with tobacco
settlement money - will be an improvement on the current system. Too often,
drug and alcohol abusers serve short terms (often limited to the time they
serve while awaiting trial) and then go right back to their
self-destructive ways, serving progressively longer jail time with each new
offense. They get little or no treatment of the underlying cause of much of
their trouble.

We know that doesn't work. It's time to try something new. The drug court
looks like a promising alternative.

Butting heads in Augusta Serious litter problem spawned deposit bill

Tuesday's show of support for a proposal to slap a deposit on cigarette
butts in Maine was surprising to those who expected the bill to serve
mainly as comic relief this session in Augusta. Hotel and motel owners said
they think the deposit is a good idea because it would save them time
picking up the piles of butts that collect near their businesses. Others
supported it as a good way to reduce litter and make money for the state.

Legislators should get serious about this proposal too, and consider its
potential and its problems. The latter seem to outweigh the former.

A cigarette deposit (we don't really have to call it a butt deposit) would
shrink the carpet of cigarette butts found in so many public places, both
by paying people to pick them up and by discouraging smokers from tossing
them in the first place. The bottle bill reduced litter and this would, too.

It would also likely raise some money in the form of unreturned deposits,
but that shouldn't be the first consideration unless lawmakers want to be
accused of contemplating a new tax.

The deposit would add a dollar to the price of a pack of cigarettes. This
seems harsh at a time when the state is already contemplating raising
cigarette taxes and could lead lawmakers to reconsider the tax, which would
be more likely to help smokers by funding health programs.

There are some practical problems, too. Cigarettes would have to be labeled
specially for the state, a slightly trickier proposition than slapping
stickers on wine bottles. And let's face it, cigarette butts aren't the
most savory thing to pick up.

Rep. Joseph Brooks' bill seems an unlikely candidate for approval and
enactment. It should play an important and serious role this legislative
season, though: It might open smokers' eyes, finally, to the litter problem
they seem to create wherever they go.