DRUG TREATMENT CHEAPER THAN JAIL

While I applaud Santa Clara County's efforts to meet the challenges
faced by the state budget, I think your readers should encourage
county leaders to invest in cost-saving programs, rather than cutting
funding for drug treatment programs. It's much more expensive to
incarcerate a drug offender than to divert them into treatment
programs, and so programs funded by Proposition 36 help save counties
across the state millions of dollars per year. In addition, research
has shown that treatment is much more likely to prevent repeat
offenses than incarceration. Investing in drug treatment will allow
the county to save money in the long run, and restore jobs to
government employees, renew local programs, and free money in the
budget for county improvements.

John Bishop

Policy Intern

Drug Policy Alliance

Los Angeles