COURTS AIM TO TREAT DRUG OFFENDERS

Roughly half of all first-time drug offenders entering pretrial
intervention in Greenville County are being sent to drug addiction classes,
according to the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office.

On average, 30 people per month enter the PTI program. They generally are
those convicted of simple drug charges such as possession of marijuana and
possession of alcohol by a minor, said Bobbie Godwin, a program counselor.
First-time criminal offenders can enter the program, which could expunge
their record, only if all sides agree to it.

However, half of the people entering prison on drug charges are being sent
into drug addiction programs, a statistic that Godwin and others said could
be reduced by more drug education.

"A lot of the people are young, but are already drug-dependent," Godwin
said. "You would be surprised."

Almost one-fourth of all cases that come into PTI each year are drug cases,
but that number does not include other first-time offenses such as
shoplifting that may be drug-related, Godwin said.

The number of simple possession drug arrests by Greenville County sheriff's
deputies increased by 35.7 percent in 2001, and the drug arrests make up
about 13 percent of all arrests in South Carolina, according to the State
Law Enforcement Division.

Sheriff Sam Simmons said his arrests jumped in 2001 as part of a larger
effort to get a handle on Greenville's drug problem, and that treatment is
a definite for the users.

"Not all of them are addicts, but even some of the ones who are casual
users could benefit from going into an education or treatment program," he
said. "Try and steer them off it. That's the whole idea."

President Bush has said he wants to make drug treatment more widely
available and socially acceptable. Bush has said the best way to affect
supply is to reduce demand for drugs and the best way to do so is through
treatment.

In Bush's proposed budget, spending for drug treatment would rise roughly 6
percent, to $3.8 billion. That could help almost 550,000 people -- about
50,000 more than last year, according to estimates.

However, the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found that 3.9 million
people who needed treatment did not get it. In treatment circles, the
accepted estimate is that only one in 10 people get the help they need.

Kat Rice of the Greenville County Commission on Drugs and Alcohol Abuse
said there is no question that drug treatment helps and becomes more
effective over time.

"It may seem pretty low, but if you can save 20 percent of the people you
treat, that is better than any kind of chronic disease," she said.