ALLIANCE ENDORSES TREATMENT OVER INCARCERATION IN
METHAMPHETAMINE CASES

WASHINGTON - Policies that educate and treat methamphetamine abusers
are more successful than ones aiming to frighten them or put them in
jail, a drug policy group said in a report released Tuesday.

The report by the Drug Policy Alliance outlines methods of prevention,
treatment, policing practices and advocacy programs like needle
exchanges and health testing that the group said is effective in
reducing meth abuse and addiction.

So far, only New Mexico has implemented a "four pillar" program
incorporating the strategy. Bill Piper, the alliance's director of
national affairs, said similar approaches have been successful in
Europe, Australia and Vancouver, Canada.

Those programs have resulted in reductions of drug users, overdoses
and HIV-AIDS and hepatitis infections, Piper said.

The group also praised a pilot program in Utah that has placed 200
offenders in treatment rather than jail.

The Drug Policy Alliance advocates prevention and treatment.
Incarceration costs more to states and also to families, doing little
to rehabilitate users and avoid repeat offenses, Piper said.

The group wants to shut down "scare tactic" programs like the Montana
Meth Project, which produced a series of public service ads, and Drug
Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE

The group also worked with California to develop Proposition 36 - the
Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act in 2001. The program places
35,000 people in drug treatment instead of jail each year, 19,000 of
which are meth users.

It's treating the problem of drug addiction instead of putting people
behind bars for simple drug or paraphernalia possession, said Margaret
Dooley-Sammuli, an alliance coordinator for California.

The large-scale availability of meth in rural areas combined with the
lack of needle exchange programs and HIV-AIDS education is a "ticking
time bomb," Piper said.

Arkansas poses special challenges because it is a rural state, said
Fran Flener, the state's drug director. Flener said she is an advocate
for treatment.

Arkansas has 39 drug courts that place people in treatment programs
that include mandatory employment, drug testing, treatment, counseling
and court appearances. The programs are generally 18 months long, and
people in rural areas must often drive far distances for court
appearances and to be drug tested several times per week.

Flener said Arkansas has 19 drug task forces throughout the state, and
is working on statewide measures to deal with meth and other drugs.