BIG BUCKS SOUGHT TO HELP ADDICTS

Sen. Boxer Wants To Double Federal Money For Drug Treatment

Criticizing the way America has waged its war on drugs, Sen. Barbara Boxer
said yesterday she will introduce a bill to double the amount of money the
federal government spends on treatment.

At a news conference with former drug addicts and treatment officials at
San Francisco's Walden House, Boxer said the bill would be a major step
toward providing treatment for every substance abuser who requests it.

"Not all substance abusers are seeking treatment, but many, many, many are,
" the California Democrat said. "And they are being turned away."

Of the roughly 5 million Americans who are addicted to alcohol or drugs,
almost 2.9 million receive no treatment, according to the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. Those who do seek treatment often wait weeks
or months to get into a substance abuse program, Boxer said.

"To be turned away when you need help for a serious addiction is very, very
deadly," she said. "It's deadly to the individual, to their family and to
society."

In San Francisco, an estimated 1,000 people are turned away from treatment
every day, according to the Public Health Department. In 1999, San
Francisco had the third-highest drug-related death rate of any county in
the country.

Boxer's bill would double federal funding for drug treatment from $3
billion to $6 billion over five years. Half the money would go to the
states and half would go directly to local treatment centers, such as
Walden House.

The bill would also reward states like California that offer drug offenders
treatment rather than jail time. California voters approved Proposition 36
in November, requiring courts to offer nonviolent first- and second-time
drug offenders the option of treatment rather than going to prison.

Boxer's plan would give matching grants of $125 million per year for five
years to states that offer treatment to offenders.

President Bush proposed a modest increase in spending on drug treatment in
his new budget -- about 4 percent over last year. Boxer said that wasn't
enough.

Her bill may face rough going in the evenly split Senate. But Boxer said
she sees a growing consensus among drug policy experts and members of
Congress that current efforts focused on drug interdiction have failed.

"I don't think we've waged a war on drugs," Boxer said. "We've done
interdiction, we've done enforcement. We haven't done prevention and
treatment. "

In California, the measure could help fill in the gaps left by Proposition
36, according to treatment officials. For example, Proposition 36 would
guarantee treatment for substance abusers, but only for those convicted of
drug offenses.

"We don't want to have to tell people, 'Go get arrested.' That's not the
way to get treatment," said Trisha Stanionis, vice president of the
California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives. "When
someone says, 'I need treatment,' it's got to be there. That's what this
(legislation) is about. "