BETTER AID URGED FOR JAILED ADDICTS

Pilot Program Trains Judges Who Order Drug Treatment

In its first report focused on improving treatment for drug addicts
in the criminal justice system, the National Institute on Drug Abuse
released 13 research-based guidelines Monday that the agency contends
can reduce crime and save money and lives.

The criminal justice community must understand that drug addiction is
a brain disease that affects behavior, requiring personalized
treatment (including medications such as methadone) and ongoing care
after incarceration, according to the government agency's report,
"Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations."

"This is an issue that affects every family in America," said Mayor
Richard Daley, who appeared with agency director Nora Volkow and
other officials at a news conference on the Near South Side. "It is
on everyone's doorstep."

Agency officials released the report in Chicago to highlight a pilot
program that trains Cook County judges on the neuroscience of
addiction and treatment. The agency's program should help judges
place addicted defendants in appropriate treatment.

Volkow said that the report summarizes findings from three decades of research.

In a 2002 survey of the nation's jails, the Bureau of Justice
Statistics found that 52 percent of incarcerated women and 44 percent
of men met the criteria for alcohol or drug dependence. Yet a 1997
bureau survey showed that fewer than 15 percent of incarcerated
offenders with drug problems had received treatment in prison.

The estimated cost to the U.S. for drug crimes is $107 billion annually.

Court-ordered treatment can help, but long-term changes require
treatment longer than 90 days, the report concludes.

"This supports what we've been experiencing on a street level. We
understand that incarceration [alone] does not heal addiction," said
Rev. Patricia Watkins, executive director of the Target Area
Development Corp., a faith-based non-profit in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.