CALIFORNIA MOOD SWINGS THAT ARE ALTERING THE DRUG WAR

There's a crisis brewing in California that has nothing to do with
energy. It's about drugs and courts, prisons and money. And wasted
lives.

It's called Prop. 36, which was approved last November by 60 percent
of that state's voters. Under Prop. 36, due to take effect July 1, a
first or second conviction for use or possession of drugs will lead
to treatment instead of jail or prison.

That seems sensible, but the numbers are scary. The 36,000 drug users
now incarcerated each year in California will overwhelm existing
treatment programs. The $120 million price tag in Prop. 36 won't
cover the treatment costs.

Why should we care? As with nearly everything Californian, Prop. 36
will create ripples beyond state borders. With one initiative,
California swings from locking them up to giving them treatment.
Isn't there a middle way? Turns out, there is.

At the grassroots, people know our lock-'em-up drug policies are a
costly failure and the national war on drug suppliers is a lost cause.

Unless state and local leaders get out in front of the issue, these
failures will fuel other initiatives. The backlash to the
get-tough-on-druggies movement of the last two decades has spawned a
well-financed counter-movement - decriminalization of drug use.

One of the backers of Prop. 36 was billionaire philanthropist George
Soros whose foundation is a major source of funding for
decriminalization efforts. This is no fringe movement. The Republican
governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson, is pushing for
decriminalization reforms in his state.

I'm not joining that bandwagon, only hailing its existence. Let's
drive that bandwagon right through the ideological barrier of the
hardliners who led us to harsh sentences for drug addicts and
billions of tax dollars spent on new prisons. Breaking through that
barrier is the first step toward sensible reforms in the courts and
redirection of scarce resources into treatment and prevention
programs that work.

And, listen up, skeptics. There are alternatives to get-tough
policies that do work.

Drug courts. Drug courts were first tried in 1989 Dade County as a
way to divert people charged with drug crimes from jail to treatment,
with ongoing court supervision. Drug courts were started in King
County in 1994. Now there are more than 600 across the country. They
are no panacea and don't work for every defendant, but they are a
proven method of keeping some people out of jail, improving lives,
and saving tax dollars.

(One test for the new U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is
continued federal financial support for drug courts. In the past,
Ashcroft has been on the other side of the battle lines in the drug
war, favoring interdiction of drug supply over treatment for users.)

Prevention. Proving prevention works is tricky. How do you prove
something didn't happen that might have? The Partnership for a
Drug-Free America has been creating messages to prevent drug use for
more than 15 years. They make a compelling case that prevention
works. Illegal drug use has declined from 12 percent of the
population in 1985 to 6 percent in 1999. A study released last week
demonstrates the cause-and-effect of getting the right message out
and reducing use. The National Institute on Drug Abuse targeted teens
most likely to try marijuana. In two counties in Kentucky,
anti-marijuana ads with messages designed for these thrill-seeking
teens were broadcast repeatedly on television over four months.
Marijuana use among targeted teens dropped by nearly 27 percent.

Higher awareness of bad consequences of drug use can affect behavior,
especially among youth. But it takes money to develop the right
message and keep it in front of kids, money that under current
policies is more likely to be spent on prisons than on prevention.

In King County there are stirrings of reform, signs as subtle and
welcome as crocus poking through the chill, bare ground. Under
attorney Fred Noland's leadership, the county bar association has
convened a task force on drug laws. King County Prosecutor Norm
Maleng is at the table and is noodling ideas for change.

The timing couldn't be better. America hasn't lost the war on drugs.
We've been fighting the wrong war in the wrong way, and the public
knows it.