TREATMENT MUST COEXIST WITH SENTENCING

In regard to the Dec. 30 editorial "Stopping drunks." I would like to
comment as well as agree, to a point, to proposals for tougher DUI laws.
There isn't any mention of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program in the
proposals for tougher DUI laws.

We all know that tougher laws should be in effect for anyone driving under
the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. But instead of a jail or prison
conviction, I believe the person should be mandated to a substance abuse
treatment facility either in place of or in addition to their sentence.
Whether it is for a one-month program or a six-month program, that person
should be given the chance to learn about the addiction and recovery process.

To put in an example, people who have been told that they have cancer are
not given the choice of going home to die. They are given the opportunity
to receive educational information on their treatment to recover from the
disease and the options that they have. Alcohol and drug addiction is just
that, an addiction, a disease that the person needs to learn about, and the
chance for recovery.

Jeannie Delp

Community outreach specialist,

Serenity House Inc.

Newport News