DRUG-TREATMENT PLANS BEGIN A LONG JOURNEY

Guilford County's plan to create a drug-treatment center is an
important step in the right direction.

"It's one step in a long journey," Commissioner Paul Gibson
said.

Later steps should include building a large new jail containing
treatment facilities for inmates.

Public Defender Wally Harrelson appreciates the "long journey" aspect
of the project. He's been a self-described "recovering person" for the
past 23 years. He helped found Alcohol and Drug Services, the
organization that occupies -- and doesn't fully utilize -- a
county-owned building at Gibson Park on West Wendover Avenue in north
High Point. He's pushed for years for the county to get more involved
in treating substance abuse, which affects many of the clients his
office defends in court.

Some of those clients need treatment, not jail time, Harrelson
said.

Last week, commissioners agreed to use the ADS facility to provide
long-term treatment for people with substance-abuse problems and
nowhere else to turn. It will cost an estimated $2.7 million a year to
run.

But that's just the beginning.

"Many of the people who receive treatment will be unable, in my
opinion, to go back into the environment from which they came,"
Harrelson said. "Without follow-up, like a 12-step program, they will
not be completely successful."

He'd like to see a network of halfway houses providing transitional
care, which could last years in some cases.

There's more. Drug addicts who belong in jail should be treated there.
Commissioners, faced with building a new jail in Greensboro,
originally talked about a 600-bed facility. Now they're asking their
architect to present plans for a 1,000-bed jail that includes space
for drug treatment.

The smaller option will be dead on arrival, Gibson said Thursday: "I don't
think anybody's going to look seriously at it at all."

They shouldn't. Projected growth in inmate populations shows that 600
beds aren't enough. A bigger jail will be needed, and it would be
irresponsible to build one without including space to treat drug
addictions in the hopes that, once released, inmates can break old
patterns of drugs, unemployment and crime.

These plans cost money, presenting commissioners with the job of
winning public support. They have a strong case to make. If people
commit crimes, jail space is needed to accommodate them. If criminal
behavior is fueled by drug abuse, treatment becomes a sensible defense
against further crime. "Pay now or pay later," Harrelson said.

It's got to be done well -- with early intervention, long-term
residential treatment and proper follow-up. At the same time,
law-enforcement agencies must continue efforts to put drug dealers out
of business.

Harrelson has seen too little done for too long. "I believe we're off
and running now," he said.

Every journey starts with the first step.