SMARTER DRUG POLICY

California voters chose a saner approach to drug crime last Tuesday.
They approved Proposition 36, which will sentence nonviolent drug
offenders to treatment rather than prison.

One-third of California's prison inmates are there because of
drug-related crime, more per capita than any other state. Estimates
are that Proposition 36 could mean 36,000 fewer inmates each year and
savings of nearly $100 million. It requires probation and treatment
for people convicted of possessing or using controlled substances.
Those who fail treatment programs twice could be sentenced to prison.
It cannot be used for people caught selling drugs.

Nationwide, about 2 million people are incarcerated, more than in any
other country. Because of stiffer penalties for drug offenses, more
are serving longer terms. Treating addiction like a public-health
problem is cheaper and can redirect thousands of lives. Florida is
inching toward such a policy. Last week, Palm Beach County opened the
state's 28th adult drug court, which will divert first-time offenders
from jail to treatment when appropriate. Charges are dropped for those
who complete the program.

During the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, most Americans wanted
tougher laws, thinking they would frighten people away from drugs. It
didn't work. Instead, the country filled prison cells with nonviolent
drug offenders. Costs soared. Mandatory, longer federal sentences for
crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine amount to racism, since most people
caught with the cheaper crack are African-American and most caught
with powder cocaine are white.

States are reexamining their drug sentencing laws. In 1996, Arizona
passed a measure similar to California's; crime rates, drug use and
prison admissions all declined substantially. Drug rehabilitation
prevents drug-addicted newborns, helps welfare mothers go to work and
stems the spread of HIV/AIDS. When Gov. Bush was elected two years
ago, he promised a more effective state drug policy. California and
Arizona are pointing the way.