A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO DRUGS

The United States has been losing the war on drugs largely because its
strategy has been hopelessly one-sided. The government has been spending a
disproportionate amount of money and resources attempting to cut off the
supply of drugs, while doing little to stem the demand.

If our leaders are serious about defeating this social and economic scourge,
they should study Arizona's approach to the drug problem, which appears to
be paying off.

Since 1998, when politically conservative Arizona became the first state in
the nation to sentence all non-violent drug offenders to treatment rather
than prison, it has saved more than $2.5-million, according to a recent
report by the Arizona Supreme Court. The state expects even greater savings
in the coming years.

Of the 2,622 people sentenced to treatment and probation for low-level drug
offenses, 77.5 percent have subsequently tested free of drugs.

The report mirrors earlier research that found treatment to be a
cost-effective way to combat the drug problem.

A study last year by a consortium of physicians and health experts from the
Clinton, Bush and Reagan administrations concluded that, on average,
residential drug treatment costs between $4,400 and $6,800 per year, versus
$25,900 per year to house an addict in jail. In addition, researchers found
treatment particularly effective in preventing recidivism among female
substance abusers.

About 400,000 of the nation's 1.8-million prison and jail inmates are
addicted to drugs.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the Clinton administration's so-called drug czar, says
he wants to reduce the prison population by about 250,000 inmates.

That may seem to be an impossible goal, but it could be accomplished if the
federal government was willing to make a greater investment in treatment.

It ought to be devoting more than 20 percent of the $17-billion spent each
year fighting drugs to substance abuse treatment. States such as Florida
that don't currently offer universal drug treatment in jails and prisons
ought to start. And more money should be invested in programs that educate
young children about the dangers of
drugs.

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported last year that
public support for increased spending on treatment programs dropped from 65
percent in 1990 to 53 percent in 1996. Nearly 84 percent of respondents
thought that tougher criminal penalties were the solution to the drug
problem. Yet the journal suggested the public may be merely mimicking the
tough rhetoric used by politicians attempting to demagogue the drug issue.

The results of Arizona's study have helped refocus the debate where it
should be -- on the hard facts about the benefits of treatment.

We ought to pay attention to it.