DRUG PLAN SEEKING CORPORATE SPONSOR

Attention all corporate top bananas:

The new Rockets basketball court is not the only naming-rights game in town
that could generate a lot of positive publicity for some community-minded
company.

State District Judge Jim Wallace has come up with another opportunity, one
with enormous potential to attract attention, admiration and gratitude all
across the nation.

This is a part of one of those lessons on making lemonade when you get
handed a lemon. It came about as a result of the most recent cut in
state-provided drug treatment programs.

"I estimate that 80 percent of my daily docket is drug-related," Wallace
said. "Unfortunately, since taking the bench in January 1995, not a year
has passed that some alternative to incarceration treatment program has
been terminated due to a lack of funding."

The current example is a six-month program offered in state jails that is
being eliminated in response to state budget problems.

"Now," Wallace said, "anyone sentenced to state jail -- where one can be
confined for up to two years -- has no opportunity to participate in any
state-run drug treatment program."

Challenge to community So a few weeks ago, Wallace, along with fellow
judges Mike McSpadden and Caprice Cosper, challenged the community to find
ways to fill the void and come up with better means than prison for
combatting drug problems.

"Many of the drug offenders I see are young people," Wallace wrote to the
many individuals and organizations that have thus far volunteered to help
meet the judges' challenge, "and our current drug laws are doing nothing
more than breeding an entire generation of felons."

He told the volunteers in an e-mail letter that he has learned two
important lessons about our state's current drug policies:

"1. Once a young person becomes a convicted drug felon his or her chance of
committing another felony offense is greatly increased.

"2. It is much more expensive to warehouse a drug user in prison than to
provide drug treatment and aftercare support in order to help him or her
become a productive member of our community."

As a close observer of the drug war for a few years now, I'm moved to tell
you that this represents one terrific breakthrough.

Many of us have long wondered why our lawmakers and justice system continue
using the same failed methods that only cause the problems to grow worse.
Many of us wanted the system to change and wondered how long we'd have to
wait for that to happen.

Now, here come these judges telling us we don't have to wait for the system
to change from the top down. We can change it. We simply need to get
organized, study the problems, inventory currently available solutions,
determine what other options should be provided and figure out how to come
up with them.

Such a plan will take a lot of volunteer time and talent, and some funds.
Wallace suggests that selling the naming rights to a corporation or
foundation could provide money to start the ball rolling.

There may be no other city in the world that sends as many of its residents
to prison for drug-related offenses.

Place is here, time is now So there is no better place than Houston for
this challenge to be answered.

Because of such scandals as the Kmart parking lot raid and the ongoing
police crime lab mess, our local criminal justice system is being
investigated and criticized and is sweating under the glare of the national
spotlight.

So there is no better time than now to make this plan part of the
rebuilding process.

As we make progress and measure success, we will attract worldwide
attention. Cities all across this drug-war-weary nation will want to copy
Houston's (YOUR COMPANY NAME COULD GO HERE) Plan.

Interested top bananas may contact Judge Wallace for details on sponsorship
and acquiring the naming rights.

People and organizations who wish to volunteer may e-mail me, and I'll see
that you get added to the list to be notified when an organizational
meeting is scheduled.