WAKE UP TO THE FAILURE OF THE DRUG WAR

For years, the nation has been trying to combat drug use and addiction with
tough law enforcement -- aggressive policing, firm prosecution and long
prison sentences. But the results have been mixed at best. And all across
the country, doubts about the drug war are not only surfacing but leading
to changes in policy.

In November, Californians approved a ballot initiative mandating treatment
instead of incarceration for those guilty of drug possession or use,
something Arizonans endorsed in 1996. Earlier this month, Republican Gov.
George Pataki of New York moved in the same direction when he said he wants
to "dramatically" reform the state's notoriously harsh drug laws, begun in
the 1970s by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. In New Mexico, Republican Gov. Gary
Johnson has strongly endorsed the proposals of a commission that urged an
even sharper change of direction.

The New York laws, though not quite the most Draconian in the country,
gained public notice because they were among the first to impose long
mandatory sentences for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts
of hard drugs. Someone convicted of a single sale of two ounces of
narcotics can get a decade or more behind bars.

Those mandatory minimums -- and the enormous leverage they give to
prosecutors -- are a big reason that New York has 21,000 inmates serving
prison time for drug offenses, with the burden falling heavily on poor and
minority defendants. Besides the human cost to nonviolent offenders, this
policy has a fiscal bite: A recent study found that the state could save
$96 million a year by being more selective in whom it locks up. Gov. Pataki
and key legislative leaders all agree on the need for a less punitive
approach, including expanded treatment.

So does the New Mexico governor, whose commission has expanded the
boundaries of the debate. Its recent report proposed eliminating all
penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, making other first
and second drug offenses misdemeanors that would not carry jail time,
getting rid of mandatory minimums, and making it easier to sell syringes
over the counter. At the same time, the panel called for spending more on
education, prevention and treatment. Such measures, it said, are a more
effective way to reduce drug use than incarceration.

In the United States, people addicted to tobacco or alcohol are seen to be
in need of therapy, not punishment. For many drug users, a similar approach
offers the hope of better outcomes at lower cost. The drug law reformers in
New York, New Mexico and elsewhere may not have all the answers, but
they're on the right track.