REP. WANTS DRUG MONEY FOR TREATMENT; DA DISAGREES

NEW BEDFORD -- State Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral filed a bill recently
proposing to redirect 20 percent of drug forfeiture money toward substance
abuse treatment programs.

Cash seized during drug raids is currently used only for law enforcement and
is distributed between the district attorney prosecuting the case and local
police departments.

"Treatment, education and prevention are part of the war on drugs," said
Rep. Cabral. "Under this bill, the money that is found (on drug dealers) is
still allocated to the local police and DA, but only up to 80 percent of
it."

Bristol County District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr. has fought the bill in
its various forms for many years.

"This is the same bill Tony has filed every year for the last 10 years," Mr.
Walsh said. "I am totally opposed to it."

The money from forfeitures has helped keep the battle against crime funded,
and that's what forfeiture laws were designed for, he said.

Drae Perkins, executive director of Treatment on Demand, testified at the
Statehouse on behalf of Rep. Cabral's bill.

He is hoping that a slice of the drug forfeiture money might help ensure
that substance abuse treatment remains accessible to recovering addicts. In
the current fiscal crisis, the state funding of drug treatment has taken a
hard hit.

"The funds for substance abuse have dissipated in the last couple months,"
said Mr. Perkins, desperate to find other sources of revenue to make up for
the shortfall. "This money should be going into law enforcement, but you
should also put money toward those who are affected by the perpetrators."

But Mr. Walsh believes that pitting law enforcement against treatment
providers in competing for forfeiture dollars is a misguided idea.

"Every chief of police and officer is against this (Cabral proposal) and
every DA has opposed this across the state. It's anti-law enforcement," he
said. "If Cabral feels so strongly about it let him file a successful bill
.. demanding treatment."

The bill also has a provision calling for a more accurate accounting of drug
forfeiture money. Rep. Cabral sees no mechanism showing how much is received
and how much is spent. "We are looking for a process that has transparency
to it," he said.