DRUG USE AND ABUSE DESERVE MORE ATTENTION ON FRONT END, NOT BACK

It's been a big week for news of a certain kind in Flagstaff. See if
you can connect the dots:

- -- First there was the 10-year sentence for a meth dealer with five
prior felony convictions and a lifelong drug habit.

- -- Then there was a sentence of probation for the young man with an
alcohol problem and a shotgun who precipitated a tragic confrontation
resulting in the shooting death of his father by a police officer.

- -- Next was the announcement by police that the drive-by shooting at
an NAU fraternity and other weapons threats were related to drug deals
being conducted by residents of the frat house.

- -- Finally, the convicted murderer of a young Flagstaff man over a
drug deal gone bad was sentenced to natural life in prison -- a very
long time behind bars for a 21-year-old.

- -- And overlaying the entire week's news was the pending availability
of an illegal drug -- marijuana -- to those with certain medical problems.

In case you still haven't picked up on the thread, it's about drugs --
illegal and otherwise -- and the time and energy this community spends
dealing with them.

We don't have all the answers, but by now it ought to be obvious that
it's time to try alternatives and even think outside the box.

That's part of the thinking behind the medical marijuana initiative --
outlawing psychoactive drugs without regard to their therapeutic
purposes seems short-sighted if there are ways to limit their uses,
protect the general public and benefit patients.

Arizona lawmakers, who oppose the medical use of pot, were overruled
by voters last November, and Arizona is now one of 15 states with
partial legalization.

Some would ask what makes voters qualified to settle a medical
question. Our response is that elected officials for too long have
used pot as a political football and that it's the voters who have
depoliticized the issue.

We sympathize with local law enforcement, who now will be asked to
police two sets of marijuana users -- one legal, one not. But so far,
the Arizona rules appear to be aimed at targeting those with a
specific medical need and making sure that physicians and suppliers
stay focused on that goal. Time, as they say, will tell.

Our other bullet points were a depressing and all-too-familiar litany
of crimes linked in some way to the abuse of drugs and stimulants. A
different week might have yielded a different list, including domestic
violence, felony hit-and-run and all manner of property crimes.

The different penalties meted out this past week reflect our society's
approach to punishing drug use more severely the longer it goes on or
the more violence it produces. The fact that the violence might not
occur were the drugs themselves less in demand and thus less dear
would seem to argue for increased effort at realizing both of those
outcomes.

Demand can be lowered by several methods, but addictive drugs take
special effort -- users aren't as susceptible to stiffer penalties or
other disincentives as, say, a shoplifter or a bank robber. It would
seem a much better investment for the community as well as the
offender to get an addict into intensive treatment earlier rather than
later -- 10 years in Florence is a $250,000 bill, "natural life" a
million dollars or more.

Thinking outside the box includes what some states have begun to do
with probationary drug sentences: Take the cost of the longer terms
behind bars and put some of it instead toward earlier intervention and
rehab. We're not saying that drug crimes are victimless or that
offenders should get off scot-free. But if other states can try it, so
can Arizona, especially when lawmakers are cutting education and
health care spending.

Another approach is to crack down on the prohibited behavior caused by
drug abuse, not simply possessing or consuming it. This has been done
to great effect with alcohol and drunken-driving. Now we'll see
whether medical marijuana users have gotten the message and won't
drive while impaired. Not only law enforcement but most of the
movement to legalize marijuana entirely will be watching intently.