EHRLICH SEEKS DIVERSION PROGRAM FOR DRUG ABUSERS

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is seeking to change the way Maryland's justice
system deals with substance abuse by making it easier for some drug
offenders to get treatment instead of a criminal record.

Ehrlich, who last year became the first Republican governor in the country
to sign a medical marijuana bill, is asking the General Assembly to pass
legislation establishing guidelines for prosecutors who want to keep
nonviolent drug offenders out of jail or off probation.

While the first phase of the program would be limited, Ehrlich said he
hopes the approach, commonly known as diversion, would be the first step
toward revamping the state's attitudes toward drug abuse.

"Twenty-five years ago, this would be a lot more difficult to do," Ehrlich
said. "But attitudes about the war on drugs are changing."

The measure is winning bipartisan support in the General Assembly. States
across the country are turning to drug treatment as a cheaper and more
effective way of dealing with substance abuse.

Ehrlich's support also signals a growing willingness among Republicans --
who once demanded stiff sentences for drug crimes -- to adopt a more
moderate approach to the problem. "What I am seeing is failure in what we
are doing now. It is like throwing good money after bad because we are not
getting good results," said Maryland Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R-Harford). "If you
are going to throw money at something to fix it, throw money at something
that works. They have a much better success rate with treatment then they
do with keeping people in jail."

Some Republican lawmakers, though, expressed concern that such measures
could undermine the nation's drug laws. "My constituents want law and
order," said Sen. Richard F. Colburn (R-Dorchester), who is seeking to
unseat U.S. Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R) in the March primary. Colburn added
that he had not yet read the bill.

About one-fourth of the 23,000 inmates housed by the Maryland Department of
Corrections and Public Safety last fall were incarcerated on drug charges,
said Mark Vernarelli, the department's spokesman. While drug treatment can
cost $1,000 to $7,000 for each patient, it costs as much as $43,000 a year
to keep someone imprisoned, according to the state Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Administration.

While some counties offer such diversion programs as drug courts,
administration officials say this would be the first structured, statewide
program that ensures supervised treatment.

Under the program, prosecutors would be able to evaluate offenders to
determine whether they can be successfully treated for drug abuse. Once
candidates are identified, they would be referred to the state Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene, which would then assign them to a drug
treatment facility. The program would also be open to prisoners seeking parole.

The prosecutor, who would be able to monitor an offender's progress, would
then place the defendant's criminal charge on an inactive docket so it
could be expunged after three years.

"It gives the individual a chance to engage in treatment and come back from
treatment and not get slammed for it" when trying to get a job, said Alan
Woods, director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

The governor has included about $8 million in his budget, about half of
which would pay for treatment slots for 98 adults and 310 juveniles to
start the program.

The governor's capital budget, released yesterday, also calls for building
a prison, causing some advocates of drug policy reform to question his
commitment to reducing the inmate population. Advocates also worry that
Ehrlich's drug treatment proposal gives too much discretion to prosecutors,
meaning that some could continue to insist on placing most nonviolent drug
users on probation or in jail.

But several Democratic lawmakers say Ehrlich should be applauded for his
efforts.

"The concept . . . is something a lot of Democrats have been looking at for
a long time and pushing for," said Del. Pauline H. Menes, a Prince George's
Democrat who heads the House Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
"But what is new is a Republican governor who has made promises to move in
this direction, and has put money into the budget to get there."