TREATMENT'S NEW FANS

The Bush administration's "Access to Recovery" initiative is a good one,
finally putting conservatives on the right side of drug treatment.

If Congress approves the plan, substance abusers would be eligible to use
governmentbacked vouchers to pay for treatment at state-authorized,
community-based programs.

Predictably, to provide conservative cover, faith-based treatment programs
would be in the mix, with eligible services ranging from counseling to
inpatient residential help.

But the most important element is what John P. Walters, director of the
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said during an
appearance here with Rep. Anne Northup, R-Louisville, last week: "We know
treatment works."

Yes, it does, and it has for a long time, which is why President Bush's
proposal has widespread support among treatment providers and advocates.

"We are encouraged by the President's budget initiative to help addicted
Americans find qualified treatment," Linda Hay Crawford, executive director
of Therapeutic Communities of America, said in February, when the proposal
was first announced.

Citizens should be encouraged, too, for the administration's position
represents an overdue reversal in Republican thinking -- not just a
flip-flop of Clintonesque proportions, but one that embraces Clintonesque
positions.

Liberals for years have been pushing for more treatment options, while many
in the President's constituency have disparaged treatment as money-wasting
coddling of people who belong in jail, serving long, mandatory sentences.

Not now, though. "Money is tight, but my hope is we will do" the
President's program, Rep. Northup said at the press conference. "It is the
responsibility of Congress to make those tough decisions."

Favoring treatment for substance abusers may be tough in some congressional
districts. But it shouldn't be here.

Wisely, Rep. Northup is taking this gift from the White House and
championing it. Politically, it can't hurt. Practically, it could help more
of those who need help most.