THE OTHER ELECTION RESULT

While it may not be clear what message voters intended to send in the
presidential election, voters in five states were unambiguous: They are
troubled by the war on drugs.

Voters in Colorado and Nevada passed ballot initiatives legalizing the use
of marijuana for medical purposes. California voters approved a ballot
initiative that requires first- and second-time non-violent drug offenders
to be sent to drug treatment, not to prison. And Oregon and Utah voters
approved initiatives that rein in asset-forfeiture laws, a much-abused
weapon in the drug war.

Although these ballot measures touch on different aspects of drug
enforcement, taken together they suggest a growing public discomfort with
treating drug abuse as a criminal act rather than a chemical addiction.

Medical marijuana may not seem so controversial; after all, it would have
to be prescribed by a physician for patients suffering from diseases such
as AIDS or cancer. Still, these initiatives are seen as a step toward total
legalization. Thus, it is interesting that 54 percent of Colorado voters
and 67 percent of Nevada voters supported the initiatives taking the first
step.

California"s ballot initiative effectively decriminalizing drug use is the
most sweeping drug measure. More than 60 percent of California voters are
now on record as saying people who violate drug laws but who are otherwise
no threat to society do not belong in prison. That may be one of the most
remarkable results of the 2000 election.

A more subtle but no less important sign of growing unease with the drug
war is the passage of ballot issues in Oregon and Utah to reform
asset-forfeiture laws. Forfeiture laws use civil-law standards to allow
police to seize cash, property and vehicles used in illegal drug deals.
This looks good when the state takes boats and airplanes from big-time drug
kingpins, but too often property is taken from people only peripherally
linked to drug deals and who are convicted of no crime.

As a result of initiatives approved by voters in Utah and Oregon,
prosecutors must first obtain a criminal conviction, and the fruits of
seizures will no longer be kept by the police but turned over to the state
for drug treatment or schools. This is an important change: Permitting
law-enforcement agencies to keep piles of cash and valuable property for
their own benefit is an invitation to corruption.

The war on drugs has always been a war on people, with the heaviest
casualties occurring among members of minority groups and in inner-city
neighborhoods.

The result is a huge prison population, disproportionately composed of
African-American men who ultimately re-enter society stripped of basic
privileges, including the right to vote, and with vastly diminished
prospects for success.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Catholic bishops expressed concern about America"s
harshly punitive criminal-justice system and bulging prison population,
which they said "does not truly reflect Christian values." The November
2000 elections are evidence that a growing number of Americans share that
belief.