AWAKENING TO THE DRUG WAR'S FAILURE

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. Last week,
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.