$215M EYED FOR JAIL DRUG TREATMENTS

WASHINGTON (AP) President Clinton said Tuesday he will propose $215
million in his next budget to test and treat inmates for drug use, to
help them avoid returning to crime once they are freed.

Clinton cited a Justice Department report that seven of every 10
federal prisoners had used drugs prior to their arrests, and one-fifth
were on drugs when they committed the crimes that sent them to prison.

Clinton's proposal sets aside $100 million in the fiscal 2000 budget
for treatment and testing of offenders in prison as well as those on
probation or parole. It also includes $50 million for creating more
local drug courts and $65 million for residential drug treatment in
state prisons.

"If we are going to continue to reduce the rate of crime, we have to
do something to avoid releasing criminals with their dangerous drug
habits intact," Clinton said. "To inmates in every state, we want to
send a message: If you stay on drugs, you must stay behind bars."

Clinton also announced the release of $120 million under the fiscal
1999 budget for drug-free prison initiatives $63 million earmarked
for state prisons to provide long-term treatment and intensive
supervision for prisoners with the most serious drug problems.

During a White House ceremony with his drug policy adviser and
Attorney General Janet Reno, Clinton said drug use is a persistent
problem in prisons. He noted Chicago Mayor Richard Daley once said it
is easier to get drugs in the Illinois penitientiary than on his
city's streets.

"That's a statement that could be made in more than half the states in
this country," Clinton said. "So we still have a lot to do. There is
no better way to start than to help our prisoners break clean from
drugs."

The president also cited Bureau of Justice Statistics data that
connected drug use to other crimes, from burglary and auto theft to
assault and murder. He said 83 percent of state prisoners and 73
percent of federal prisoners had used drugs in 1997. Fifty-seven
percent of state prisoners and 45 percent of federal prisoners had
used drugs in the month before they were arrested, Clinton said.

"We have to break this cycle," Clinton said. "We have to give these
people a chance to be drug-free and to be productive citizens again."

If approved by Congress, the money would represent an increase of
about $100 million over funds currently available to enforce "zero
tolerance" of drug use by prisoners, parolees and probationers.

White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey said it costs
taxpayers about $43,000 a year to incarcerate an untreated addict,
while providing prison-based treatment for that addict costs about
$2,700 a year.

"This is a no-brainer for smart drug policy, for smart incarceration
policy," McCaffrey said.