FORCED REHAB, NOT JAILING, CUTS DRUG USE, STUDIES FIND

WASHINGTON -- Forcing drug abusers who commit non-violent crimes into
rehabilitation helps them come clean, according to studies released
Tuesday by a bipartisan group of health experts.

From prison rehab programs to special drug courts that allow
non-violent abusers to undergo treatment rather than serve time,
forced rehabilitation can effectively reduce rearrest rates and drug
abuse, found the reports, presented by the group Physician Leadership
on National Drug Policy.

"These drug court and prison and teen treatment studies show a
critically important alternative to strictly punitive approaches,"
said David Lewis, director of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction
Studies at Brown University, Providence, R.I.

He is the project director for the group of prominent doctors and
public health leaders from the Clinton, Bush and Reagan
administrations.

The research comes as the White House's drug policy office seeks by
2000 to triple the number of drug courts, which now total about 300
nationwide.

With $30 million set aside for drug court grants in 1998, the Office
of National Drug Control Policy believes it can cut the prison
population by a quarter of a million in the next five years through
continued expansion of the program.

The study on drug courts, conducted by the National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, showed "quite
impressive" retention and completion rates, said Steven Belenko, its
author.

Sixty percent of those who enter drug court programs are still in
treatment after one year, and 50 percent graduate from the programs.

One survey found 10 percent of urine tests for those enrolled in drug
courts turned up positive compared with 31 percent for defendants
under only supervised probation.

The study also found criminal behavior substantially lower during
treatment.

Based on the discretion of police or judges, offenders who commit
non-violent crimes are eligible for hearings at a designated drug
court rather than a regular court.

A drug court judge then orders the defendant to enter a rehab program,
and the court monitors with routine drug testing.

Defendants who fail a drug test or fail to show up for treatment can
end up serving jail time.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry