MOST PRISONERS HAVE USED DRUGS

WASHINGTON (AP) Seven of every 10 federal prisoners had used drugs prior
to their arrests, and one-fifth were on drugs at the time they committed the
crime that sent them to prison, the Justice Department reported today.

In conjunction with the release of the department's Bureau of Justice
Statistics figures, which are up from 1991 levels, President Clinton said
his fiscal 2000 budget would include $215 million to test and treat
prisoners for drug use.

"Drug use stokes all kinds of crime," Clinton said today in a White House
ceremony. "It is clear to us that if we're going to continue to reduce the
rate of crime we have to do something to avoid releasing criminals with
their dangerous drug habits intact."

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 an untreated addict
costs taxpayers about $43,000 per year, while prison-based treatment for an
individual's drug use annually costs $2,700.

McCaffrey called the president's proposed budget increase "a no-brainer for
smart drug policy, for smart incarceration policy."

The Justice report found that 70 percent of federal prisoners had used
drugs, and 22 percent used them at the time of the offense. In 1991, 60
percent of federal prisoners said they had used drugs, and 17 percent used
them at the time of the crime.

Percentages of state prisoners using drugs were higher. In 1997, 83 percent
said they had used drugs, up from 79 percent in 1991. And 33 percent used
them at the time of the crime, up from 31 percent in 1991.

Clinton also announced today the release of $120 million in funds already
approved for drug-free prison initiatives this year. About $63 million is
earmarked for state prisons to provide long-term drug treatment and
intensive supervision for prisoners with the most serious drug problems.