A NEW WEAPON FOR THE DRUG WAR: REALITY

It was an evening at Crystal Cathedral, now more than seven years ago, that
sticks in my mind. About 200 people showed up to hear a succession of
speakers, including judges, say that the nation's drug-enforcement laws
were counterproductive.

Although the term made people leery, talk of "decriminalization" hung in
the air like pot at a Grateful Dead concert.

Then-Sheriff Brad Gates wasn't there, but he'd made his feelings known. He
didn't want to hear that kind of talk.

And in truth, decriminalization talk in Orange County seemed to dissipate
about as quickly as marijuana smoke in a summer breeze.

But there's a new sheriff in town by the name of Mike Carona. His
conservative credentials seem fairly impeccable. But in ways that would
have seemed foreign to his predecessor, Carona is willing to broaden the
public conversation on how to handle drug offenders.

No, he's not talking decriminalization. But he's awaiting funding for a
64-bed pilot program that would take offenders out of jail--those whose
criminal acts stemmed from drug dependency--and try to arrest that dependency.

What's most interesting to me is that the program wouldn't be limited only
to those arrested on specific drug charges.

Rather it would include those arrested for crimes--burglary, for
example--that stemmed from their dependency.

It's hard to imagine Gates ever championing something like that.

Assistant Sheriff Rocky Hewitt, a 34-year veteran of law enforcement and a
Gates loyalist who still heads the county's jail operations, thinks Carona
is on to something.

Hewitt describes himself as a very conservative guy and a solid Republican.
But, he says, he's also got some liberal views, one being that society
isn't automatically helped by locking up for long prison terms people whose
crimes are linked to drug use.

"I don't want more victims out there," Hewitt says. "I've seen too many
victims of crime. If we can stop people from committing crimes, if they're
doing so because of a drug habit, it's certainly worth the time, effort and
money."

Gates concentrated his anti-drug efforts on young people but held little
truck for adult offenders. Carona's "vision," Hewitt says, is to expand the
notion of treatment to adults.

Here's why: Historically, the county's jail population (now at 5,000),
includes between 60% and 75% who are there either for drug or drug-related
offenses. If not for their dependency, Hewitt says flatly, they most likely
wouldn't be in custody.

What About the Kids?

That's why treatment, if it works, has huge implications for society--both
in sparing potential crime victims and for increasing the number of
families headed by wage-earners instead of jailbirds.

I applaud Carona for his courage, but he's got at least one more tough
decision to make. That involves what to do about juvenile drug arrests,
particularly for marijuana possession.

A story in this week's Times noted that juvenile drug arrests in Orange
County have risen 280% in the last 10 years. The arrest rate far outpaced
those in Los Angeles County and the rest of the state, The Times reported.

Various voices in the criminal justice system asked whether those
youngsters are getting the "treatment" they need. But the larger--and much
tougher--question for Carona and his inner circle is whether arrest or
diversion to treatment programs is needed at all.

In most cases, it isn't, according to the director of a national
organization that wants to redefine drug policy in America.

"The first line out of any police chief or sheriff's mouth is that 'we in
law enforcement are in this together with treatment and prevention,' " said
Ethan Nadelmann of the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation in New
York. "The people who break out are the ones who say, 'This is ridiculous;
we should stop arresting these people.' "

Statistics vary, but Nadelmann said studies indicate 50% of high school
seniors have smoked a joint. "Now what happens?" he asks. "A small minority
of them get caught, either because they were silly, unlucky, foolish or
careless. For that unlucky minority, we're going to send them to intensive
programs for them and their parents? That's a farce. Fifty percent of high
school seniors require treatment programs with their parents? Think how
ludicrous that is."

Nadelmann isn't talking about decriminalizing drug possession. Nor does he
expect law enforcement agencies to announce they're relaxing anti-drug
policies. His ideal scenario would have police chiefs and sheriffs passing
the word to their cops and deputies not to bust every teenager caught
smoking pot.

Hewitt said officers already use discretion. Orange County's arrest
numbers, however, suggest they're still plenty busy.

A complicated issue, to be sure.

From all indications, Orange County has a sheriff willing to tackle it.

Who knows, maybe it's time to convene again at Crystal Cathedral.