DRUG TREATMENT COSTS FAR LESS THAN PRISON

There are now almost 7 million adults in our country's criminal
justice system, including over 2 million persons incarcerated in
jails and prisons.

Well over half of these individuals have significant substance abuse
problems. The costs associated with building new jails and prisons to
house those with drug addiction are enormous - $20,000 to $23,000 per
year for each person incarcerated.

We simply can't afford to continue the pace of new jail and prison
construction without considering more effective alternatives. We know
that substance abuse treatment can be highly effective in breaking
the cycle of drug-related crime and incarceration. Research provides
strong and compelling evidence that treatment reduces criminal
recidivism, drug use, family violence, unemployment and welfare
dependence among criminal justice populations. Cost savings can be
enormous. For example, savings in reduced drug-related crime as a
result of substance abuse treatment amount to $4 to $7 for every
dollar spent. Yet the vast majority of persons who need drug
treatment in our criminal justice system never receive these services.

In the face of state revenue shortfalls in Florida, Gov. Charlie
Crist has shown a willingness to examine new solutions to reduce the
cycle of drugs and crime. The governor's budget proposes $29 million
to revitalize substance abuse treatment in prisons and for those
under justice supervision in the community. For the first time in
Florida's history, this initiative provides an opportunity to provide
"treatment on demand" for non-violent offenders with addiction problems

A federally funded study conducted by the Research Triangle Institute
revealed that more than 90 percent of persons completing treatment
while supervised or incarcerated by the Florida Department of
Corrections did not commit a crime in the two-year follow-up. Studies
like this one indicate that the governor's new initiative will save
approximately $1.2 billion over the next five years.

We believe that this is a sound strategy that is long overdue, and
that makes dollars and "sense" for all of our citizens. All
Floridians will benefit from this change, and so many families can be
helped by treating substance abuse as the disease it truly is, rather
than by trying to lock the problem away in jails and prisons that we
can't afford.