FUNDING DRUG TREATMENT MAKES SENSE FOR FLORIDA

The best weapon in the war on drugs is early, effective, intensive
treatment.

State Attorney John Tanner says so. Gov. Jeb Bush says so. Jim
McDonough, Bush's drug czar, says so. Experts around the country say
so.

So why isn't the Florida Legislature listening?

In his budget recommendations, Bush allocated $20 million more for
community drug treatment, with the stated goal of cutting illegal drug
use in half within the next five years.

So far - with budget negotiations set to wind down in the next few
weeks - the House and the Senate aren't halfway to the ball park.

The Senate is recommending an increase of $8.5 million - sizable, but
not nearly enough. The House is dead last with a miserly $2.5 million.

This initiative is backed by sound fiscal and social policy. In the
report of the state's drug summit, conducted earlier this year, it was
estimated that 52 percent or more of the state's child-abuse cases
involve drug use in some form. Those are the cases where some kind of
substance abuse treatment was part of the family's case plan. The
national estimate of drug use among families in trouble is much higher.

Drug use is an underlying cause of much crime in Florida. Nearly half
of the inmates in Florida's prison system were sentenced on
drug-related charges.

In short, drug abuse costs Florida money. Rehabiliation is expensive,
but it can save money in the long run. More important, as get-tough
types like Tanner and Bush have been smart enough to realize, it can
literally save lives.

If the Legislature wants to demonstrate good fiscal sense, it will
make sure Florida has the money it needs to fight drugs the smart way
- - by helping addicts become productive members of society, not inmates.