CANDIDATES TALK ABOUT DRUGS

Jim Douglas

Republican

Iwas the first candidate for governor to identify Vermont's heroin and
hard-core drug problem as an issue in the race for governor.

I hope and believe my focus on this insidious problem has increased
public awareness and will help all Vermonters understand the serious
risk posed by the influx of hard core drugs into Vermont.

Vermont has always been a peaceful place, isolated from the culture of
drugs and violence that infects our nation's urban areas, but in
search of new markets for their lethal commodities, out-of-state drug
dealers now target our communities, our schools, your neighbors'
children and, yes, even our own kids.

The availability and use of heroin in Vermont is increasing
exponentially, especially among our youth.

From 1999 to 2000, the number of state and local heroin investigations
increased 372 percent.

The number of 18- to 24-year-olds admitted for heroin abuse treatment
increased 464 percent from 1997 to 2000.

Most tragically, the number of heroin overdose deaths in Vermont
increased from four in 1998 to 10 in 1999, and 14 were reported
through the first 10 months of 2000.

I have spoken about the importance of expanding opportunity for all
Vermonters.

I will continue to speak out on ways to provide more opportunities to
succeed, especially for our youth. But there is nothing that destroys
opportunity more quickly than drugs. That is why it is so important to
the future of Vermont that we stop the flood of drugs into our state.

My Drug Education, Treatment, Enforcement and Rehabilitation Program,
or D.E.T.E.R., will greatly increase the resources available to
communities to prevent and treat drug abuse, and to allow law
enforcement to combat more effectively drug dealers in our
neighborhoods.

To educate and prevent drug abuse, my program puts a drug counselor in
every ju-nior and senior high school; funds after-school programs and
job opportunities for students; and increases enrollment for proven,
effective prevention programs.

Unfortunately, we'll never be able to stop everyone from making the
wrong choice. Therefore, we need to be prepared to treat addicts to
help them kick their habit before it destroys their lives.

We can keep drug users clean by adding more funding for drug treatment
programs that have a record of success.

If a program helps a Vermonter cure his or her drug addiction, we
cannot afford not to fund it. The cost of drug abuse to society is
just too high.

We must also fund effective prison treatment programs so that inmates
can be rehabilitated and resume a productive life on the outside.

Eighty-five percent of Vermont inmates have a serious substance abuse
problem.

Unless prisoners leave jail substance-free and continue treatment
after their release, they are destined to resume their lives of crime,
threaten our children and further burden our social welfare system.

And finally, we need to increase our enforcement efforts to make sure
that drug dealers know that they are unwelcome in Vermont.

Today, convicted drug dealers can enter your neighborhood and begin
peddling their commodities without your ever knowing they are there.

So, I have proposed a "Megan's Law" for drug dealers. Megan's Law
requires that convicted sex offenders be entered into a state
registry, and states may actively notify the public when one enters
their community to live.

We need to have a similar system for convicted drug
dealers.

No longer will these predators be able to lurk anonymously while they
target our children for destruction.

We need to send the strongest possible message to drug dealers that if
they come to our state for the purpose of killing our children for
drug profits, they will suffer the most severe consequences.

In particular, if you sell illegal drugs to a minor and that child
dies as a result, you should go to jail for the rest of your life.

And if you are a young person considering drugs, consider this: If
you're caught with drugs, I propose that we take away your driver's
license for one year.

Cornelius 'Con' Hogan

Independent

I don't need to restate the problem of hard drugs in Vermont. It is
serious, and it is growing.

Stronger law enforcement has a major part to play. However, the longer
term success lies in reducing demand through effective public
education and community engagement in families and schools.

We know the results when strong public health communication grabs
hold.

Seat belt use went up from about 30 percent to 80 percent using those
techniques.

We have seen a steady and strong reduction of smoking by our adults
over the last 40 years from well over 50 percent to just over 20
percent today.

We've seen the reduction of smoking with pregnant mothers, and we're
now seeing the beginning of reductions with our younger citizens,
which will accelerate, given the amount of prevention dollars that are
flowing into public health communications about tobacco use.

Vermont has also seen progress in reducing use of other drugs and
marijuana.

Under certain circumstances, but not often enough, treatment for
heroin can have a positive impact.

However, the cost of treatment is very high and competes directly with
money for strong prevention and law enforcement interdiction.

So, my views about heroin treatment are ones of limitations and care,
and flows from my firsthand experience in Corrections.

Self-help programs based on Alcoholics Anonymous principles and
practice show continuing promise because they depend on the person who
is addicted having looked themselves in the mirror and concluded that
they are ready to change.

That is the basis for any successful treatment program. Simply put,
many people aren't ready for treatment. It cannot be forced.

Prevention, interdiction and treatment, together, can make a
difference. Prevention and education about the effects of all drug
use, including marijuana should be Vermont's policy.

Putting large sums of money into controlling the use of marijuana will
not be at the top of my priority, in the context of the dangerous hard
drug problem we are facing.

The idea of recreational use of marijuana is one that will have to be
continually assessed and addressed by the Vermont population.

I do stand behind the humane practice of physician-prescribed use of
marijuana for purpose of pain management.

Doug Racine

Democrat

Vermont cannot afford to lose another child to drugs.

Heroin addiction and substance abuse are serious and growing problems.
Kids are dying.

Overdoses, drug crime and devastated families are now regular fare in
our headlines. According to a legislative study -- The Elephant in
Vermont's Living Room -- Vermont spends nearly 12 percent of our
budget on the many consequences of substance abuse.

Yet only 0.3 percent of that budget is devoted to prevention and
treatment.

We have to do more. As governor, I will work across party lines in the
fight against drugs.

My approach will include prevention, treatment and law
enforcement.

Reducing the supply of drugs by aggressively pursuing dealers and
prosecuting cases quickly is an important part of the solution. But we
must also work to reduce the demand for drugs through education,
prevention and early intervention.

PREVENTION: Education of our children about the effects of drugs on
their minds and their bodies is the first step.

In addition, experience with the New Directions program proves that
educating teachers, pediatricians and parents about the early symptoms
of drug abuse speeds intervention and prevents problems from becoming
more serious.

We have made a great start with funding Student Assistance
Professionals. SAPs bridge the gap between prevention and treatment by
not only identifying teens in crisis and referring them to community
mental health agencies, but also by promoting positive values.

Currently there are 98 schools that have a substance abuse counselor.
A Racine administration will fund more, because prevention is the most
effective way to combat drugs -- and the least costly.

TREATMENT: We cannot afford to ignore the havoc drugs wreak in
Vermont's schools. Almost half of our adolescents are in need of
intervention or treatment for substance abuse.

Kids who drink before the age of 14 are at 10 times greater risk for
using heroin. Prevention, early intervention and treatment are
critical if we want to stop heroin abuse.

The good news is that treatment works, costs far less than
incarceration, and ultimately improves lives.

We must increase treatment options. Our prisons are full of people
whose crimes were committed either under the influence of drugs, or in
order to get money to buy drugs.

Without treatment, addicts return to criminal behavior once their
sentence ends. Successful treatment reduces crime and child abuse and
puts people on the road to healthier, more productive lives.

Although the 2003 budget increased treatment funding, there are still
remaining needs for adolescent residential treatment, methadone
maintenance, out-patient care, women's facilities, follow-up and
recovery services.

ENFORCEMENT: In fighting drugs, law enforcement must have the tools to
go after the dealers.

We must increase the capacity of our Drug Task Force, which
investigates drug trafficking.

In addition to the federal funding that put five additional officers
in the force, the state should immediately invest $250,000 to add
three more officers as recommended by the Governor's Heroin Action
Committee.

I support filling all the vacancies in the State Police
force.

Some have suggested a "Megan's Law for Drug Dealers," which would
advertise where drug dealers live.

In this matter, I am guided by my discussions with law enforcement
officials, who advise that it is not good policy to tell people who
may be looking for drugs where to buy them.

At long last, Vermont has taken the first steps in the creation of a
drug court.

This approach to the criminal and juvenile justice system allows
defendants to choose treatment instead of prison.

If treatment fails, then the sentence is imposed. In the 49 other
states with operating drug courts, most of the defendants succeed and
become productive citizens. I will take the final steps towards
creating a drug court.

By taking an approach balanced between prevention, treatment, and law
enforcement I am certain that we will decrease the horrific impact of
drugs in Vermont.