CONNECTICUT'S SENSIBLE WAR ON DRUGS
Copyright (c) 1997, The New York Times Company

While New York continues to stuff its prisons with drug
offenders, the Connecticut Legislature is considering a
more sensible approach that emphasizes treatment rather
than punishment. Gov. John Rowland has yet to embrace a
package of reforms to the state's drug laws, but the
Legislature is pushing him in the right direction.

Since 1980, Connecticut's prison population has jumped
from 3,800 to nearly 15,000, with about 25 percent of those
prisoners locked up on drug charges like dealing and
possession. The state spends about $400 million a year to
operate its prisons, more than it spends on its public
colleges and universities. In an effort to stem prison
costs, the General Assembly asked an advisory commission to
investigate alternatives. The commission's report, released
earlier this year, viewed drug abuse as a public health
issue that required more treatment rather than more
criminal penalties.

Many of the commission's recommendations have been
incorporated in proposed legislation that was recently
approved by committees of the Assembly and Senate. Under
the proposed law, pilot methadone maintenance programs
would be established for heroin users both in and out of
prison; more drug users convicted of nonviolent offenses
would be forced into treatment programs, and those caught
with small amounts of marijuana could be fined rather than
incarcerated.

Proponents of the changes argue that it costs $25,000 a
year to keep a drug offender locked up, much more than the
$10,000 needed for drug treatment. Governor Rowland has
expressed support for more prevention and treatment
programs. But he and the state's chief prosecutor worry
that, in its zeal to help users, the Legislature may relax
penalties against those who manufacture and sell drugs.

That concern can surely be met while the full Assembly
and Senate take up the debate.