DRUG OFFENSE MEASURE MAKES BALLOT

November Vote Could Send Users To Treatment Centers Instead Of Prison

Sacramento -- An initiative that would require anyone convicted of a
nonviolent drug offense be sent to a drug treatment center instead of prison
qualified for the November ballot yesterday.

The $1 million signature-gathering campaign was financed by billionaire
George Soros, who will also contribute toward its passage. The initiative is
being organized by the same group that successfully campaigned for
Proposition 215, the 1996 medical marijuana measure.

``This initiative represents a commitment to treating drug abuse as a health
problem, not a criminal justice problem,'' said Dave Fratello, a spokesman
for the campaign. ``Drug treatment is effective not only at reducing drug
abuse and addiction, but in cutting criminal activity in users.''

But the proposal is drawing fire from police groups and state peace officers
as a threat to public safety.

Courts are designed to weigh the benefits of treatment for individuals, said
Robert Elsberg, a
spokesman for the California Police Officers Association.

``Sometimes people are not good candidates for treatment,'' he said. ``We
know successful treatment works when there are consequences -- this has
treatment but no consequences for failure.''

Currently, there are about 20,000 inmates in the state prison system doing
time for simple possession. The Legislative Analyst's Office said passage of
the initiative would save taxpayers a net of $100 million to $150 million in
annual prison operation costs and another $475 million to $575 million in
prison construction costs. Counties would save another $50 million annually
in reduced jail costs.

The proposal would be for nonviolent first- and second-time drug offenders,
Fratello said. Excluded is anyone caught dealing or with large amounts of
drugs, or who commits another crime at the same time as possessing drugs.

Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, supports the measure,
citing the success of programs such as the Delancy Street Foundation in San
Francisco in ``taking addicts and returning them to a successful role.''

``We should treat drug abuses as health problems, not law enforcement
problems,'' said Burton, who makes no secret of his own past use of cocaine.
``This frees up law enforcement to deal with serious crimes, reduces
overcrowding in prisons that jeopardizes correctional officers, and frees up
prison cells for serious and violent criminals who need to be separated from
society.''

Also supporting the measure are San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and Sheriff
Mike Hennessey.

Elsberg said law enforcement supports treatment when it has been proven
successful, but warns there is no guarantee of success with the initiative.

``There is no definition of treatment, and no way to determine success,'' he
said. ``A person could go through the program and go back to what they were
doing before, like driving a school bus, with no check-up.''

Supporters argue that the treatment programs would be court-approved, and
therefore reliable.

This is the second initiative that has gathered enough signatures to be on
the November ballot.