ARIZONA HOLDS LESSONS FOR CALIFORNIA DRUG TREATMENT PLAN

Arizona Holds Lessons for California Drug Treatment

PHOENIX, Ariz. (AP) -- A quarter of first-time criminal drug offenders walk
away from court-ordered treatment programs in Arizona's largest
metropolitan area -- and there's nothing judges or prosecutors can do about it.

The high dropout rate among drug offenders is Arizona's toughest problem
since voters passed Proposition 200, which mandated treatment instead of
prison or jail for those convicted of using or possessing illegal drugs.

California could soon confront the same problem as it rushes to implement a
similar proposal -- Proposition 36, passed by voters last month. Indeed,
the four years of experience Arizona has with its drug treatment programs
gives California some real-life lessons for its own plan.

For example, rather than threatening drug offenders with prison, Arizona
law enforcement officials now offer rewards such as zoo tickets and ice
cream cones to offenders who stay clean. Instead of a weekend in jail,
punishments include a weekend picking up trash.

While California might also have to shift philosophy, its problems will be
far greater because it has a larger population, more inmates, and already
crowded probation and treatment programs.

Arizona had to treat about 6,000 offenders each year. California is
projected to have 36,000 offenders -- six times as many -- and its existing
community treatment programs already have long waiting lists.

By law, Arizona caps each probation officer's caseload at 60. Caseloads in
California routinely top 300.

"Do drugs, do time" once was the slogan of prosecutors in conservative
Maricopa County, where the bulk of Arizona's population lives, including in
the cities of Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale.

Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Colleen McNally used to operate
her drug court much as California judges do now: offenders who tested dirty
for drugs or failed to show up for treatment or counseling sessions were
immediately handcuffed and led away to spend a few days in the county jail.

These days, McNally has traded her stick for a carrot.

She hands out tickets to the Phoenix Zoo or Arizona Science Museum to those
who stay clean. She leads her crowded courtroom in applause for those who
advance to a less-restrictive treatment program.

"I give them these little polished stones when they graduate," McNally
said. "It was just an afterthought, but they talk about it. A lot of these
people don't have a lot of self-esteem.

"Little things mean a lot, that's what I noticed," she said. "My first
thought was they were going to be disdainful of zoo tickets, but they
weren't. Those guys with the tattoos like the zoo tickets, too -- they just
like the recognition."

In Arizona, those caught using drugs or skipping 12-step treatment programs
are punished with community service work or required to sit through a full
day observing endlessly repetitive drug court proceedings.

Those who can't seem to kick their habit on the street are offered
residential treatment.

But some, like 35-year-old Robert Morrison of Phoenix, simply refuse.

Morrison tested positive for methamphetamines Oct. 23, then skipped three
additional drug tests and a court appearance.

When Morrison refused residential treatment, McNally terminated his drug
court participation and ordered him back into three years of standard
probation. But Morrison walked out of her courtroom essentially a free man,
albeit with a permanent felony drug record.

"She told me I had to go to rehab, and I was like, 'The hell with that -- I
can't afford 28 days (off work),"' Morrison said moments later.

"What we're finding in Arizona, in a relatively short-term study, is
approximately 25 percent of probationers are thumbing their nose at the
judge," said Barnett Lotstein, a special assistant Maricopa County
prosecutor. Zachary Dal Pra, the county's deputy chief probation officer,
estimated the number may be closer to 30 percent.

Arizona is only now beginning to study the effectiveness of its programs,
but a preliminary study by the Arizona Supreme Court found 61 percent
graduated while 39 percent failed to complete treatment.

About 76 percent stayed drug-free during the program, the court found.
Carey McGrath, who oversees the county's drug court counselors, said the
new system appears to be resulting in fewer positive drug tests.

"So something's working," she said. "There's definitely a different feeling
in the courtroom. You don't see people sitting in their chairs quaking in
fear."

However, San Diego Superior Court Judge James Milliken said he was
"appalled" when he observed Arizona's program in January and saw how many
offenders like Morrison skip treatment.

"We're going to create a program that's more rigorous," Milliken insisted.
"If they relapse, we can't put them in custody -- but we can put them in a
residential treatment program that they aren't going to like any better.

"We're not going to take 'No' for an answer," said Milliken, who sits on
San Diego County's Substance Abuse Policy Advisory Committee. "We're going
to insist on residential treatment and if they refuse, to me that means
they're not amenable to treatment and we can pack them off to prison."

Arizona judges and prosecutors sought similar ways around Proposition 200's
incarceration ban, only to be repeatedly struck down by the state Supreme
Court.

By necessity, they are slowly switching to a system of rewards instead of
punishment.

Judges and probation officers are toying with offering offenders everything
from ice cream cones to community college tuition vouchers. But some
offenders seem unreachable, and they just walk away.

"The court is basically saying we don't have any way to supervise you, so
we're going to release you back into the community with no supervision and
wait for you to commit another crime," said probation officer Dal Pra.