PRISON WRONG WAY TO COMBAT DRUG USE

McLean County's drug court is definitely a step in the right
direction (``Drug court's implementation will benefit county,''
OurViews, Sept. 9, page A6), but an arrest should not be a necessary
prerequisite for drug treatment.

Would alcoholics seek help for their illness if doing so were
tantamount to confessing to criminal activity? Likewise, would
putting every incorrigible alcoholic behind bars and saddling them
with criminal records prove cost-effective?

The United States recently earned the dubious distinction of having
the highest incarceration rate in the world, with drug offenses
accounting for the majority of federal incarcerations. This is big
government at its worst.

At an average cost of $26,134 per inmate annually, maintaining the
world's largest prison system can hardly be considered fiscally conservative.

The threat of prison that coerced treatment relies upon can backfire
when it's actually put to use. Prisons transmit violent habits rather
than reduce them.

Imagine if every alcoholic were thrown in jail and given a permanent
criminal record. How many lives would be destroyed? How many families
torn apart? How many tax dollars would be wasted turning potentially
productive members of society into hardened criminals?

Reference For Above-Mentioned Stat:

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that in 1999, the nation
spent $146,556,000,000 on the Federal, State and Local justice
systems. In that year, the United States had 1,875,199 adult jail and
prison inmates.

Based On This Information The Cost Per Inmate Year Was:

Corrections Spending Alone, $26,134 Per Inmate;

Corrections, Judicial And Legal Costs, $43,297 Per Inmate;

Corrections, Judicial, Legal And Police Costs, $78,154 Per Inmate.