GENERAL'S DRUG TREATMENT PLEA

Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star general, did two combat tours in
Vietnam. His hair is steel gray, his chin firm.

He may seem an unlikely advocate for drug treatment, but this week at the
Omni Shoreham Hotel, that's what the White House drug control policy
director will be. A three-day conference of nearly 1,000 criminal justice
officials from across the nation begins today.

The Clinton administration is arguing that America cannot incarcerate its
way out of the drug and crime problem. About 85 percent of the prison
population reports substance abuse problems. At $20,000 per inmate
annually, prison is a costly and treatment-free solution. It returns more
than 500,000 inmates a year to the streets, where, McCaffrey said, most
sink back into addiction and crime.

"This is not a 'soft on crime' issue," McCaffrey told reporters at a
briefing yesterday. Among the conference's goals is to persuade states that
in-prison treatment, at an estimated $3,000 to $8,000 per inmate, would
lead to lower recidivism and extensive savings.

[snip]