DRUGS AND CRIME

I agree with Judy Mann that our state and federal criminal justice system
should focus more on treatment and less on incarceration for nonviolent,
drug-addicted offenders ["Drug War's Failure Opens Door to New Tactic,"
Style, Aug. 16]. For this reason Attorney General Janet Reno, Secretary of
Health and Human Services Donna Shalala and I have supported expanding the
number of drug courts, which offer court-supervised drug treatment programs
in lieu of incarceration. The number of drug courts has grown from a dozen
in 1994 to more than 416 in October 1999--with 279 more in the planning
stages. The number of federal inmates receiving residential substance-abuse
treatment increased from 1,135 in 1992 to 10,816 in 1999.

Contrary to the impression in Mann's column, the federal system is not
locking up large numbers of drug addicts for simple possession. During
fiscal year 1998, only 33 federal defendants were sentenced to jail for
base offenses involving less than 5,000 grams of marijuana; 196 criminals
were sentenced for crimes involving between 1 million and 2.99 million
grams of marijuana. And only 55 federal defendants were sentenced for drug
crimes involving 25 grams of powder cocaine or less. Meanwhile, 749 federal
defendants were sentenced for crimes involving 5,000 grams or more of
cocaine, with 249 of these cases involving more than 150,000 grams.

At the state level, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that as of
July 1997, 222,100 state inmates were incarcerated for drug offenses. Of
these state drug offenders, more than 70 percent were incarcerated for
trafficking, as opposed to possession. More than 82 percent of the total
state prison drug-offender population had prior criminal histories--23.6
percent of them were violent recidivists.

Finally, the notion that drug users harm only themselves is misguided. Each
year, drug abuse costs our society more than $110 billion in the form of
higher insurance rates and the suffering (human and fiscal) of drug crimes.
Drug users kill and injure countless innocent people in on-the-job and
drugged-driving accidents. A National Transportation Safety Board study of
182 fatal truck accidents revealed that 28.9 percent of the drivers had
used marijuana, cocaine and/or illegal stimulants--compared with just 12.5
percent for alcohol. Columbia University reports that adult substance abuse
exacerbates seven of every 10 child abuse or neglect cases. Drug users
commit a disproportionate share of the crime in this nation.

Mann's opinion notwithstanding, Americans do not want drugs legalized, and
they overwhelmingly support our balanced approach to the problem. And why
shouldn't they? The latest studies show that in just one year, overall
youth drug use has fallen by 13 percent. The number of drug-related murders
has dropped to the lowest point in more than a decade. And a study released
in July found that workplace drug use has fallen to an 11-year low.

Americans should welcome a debate about the most effective approach to
dealing with chronic drug offenders in the criminal justice system. But a
healthy debate requires a full understanding of the facts.

Barry R. McCaffrey, The writer is director of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy.