BILLBOARDS TRY TO SELL DRUG ISSUE

Signs Might Be Precursor To TV Blitz

The battle over State Issue 1 is moving to the highways before it takes to
the airwaves.

Backers of the proposed constitutional amendment that calls for treatment
in lieu of incarceration have begun putting their message on 44 billboards
in major metropolitan areas, including 10 in Columbus.

The billboards' text -- Treatment, Not Jail, for Nonviolent Drug Users --
appears next to an image of a young man behind bars. The signs urge a
"yes'' vote.

The billboard message might foreshadow a significant television advertising
campaign expected to air during the two weeks before the election.

If approved by Ohio voters in the Nov. 5 election, Issue 1 would require
judges, beginning on July 1, 2003, to offer the option of treatment instead
of incarceration to certain nonviolent offenders charged with drug
possession. Although the law would be limited to first- and second-time
offenders, multiple offenders could qualify because the two-time limit
kicks in only after offenders enter the program.

Ohio taxpayers would have to pay $19 million in startup costs and $38
million annually for six years thereafter. However, Issue 1 supporters
contend that taxpayers would save $21 million annually because drug
treatment costs about $3,500 a year per person compared with $23,000 for
incarceration.

Gov. Bob Taft is raising money to oppose Issue 1, but is not expected to
match the estimated $3 million its backers will spend.

"We are raising money to do what we can to counter their advertising,''
said Emily Foster, spokeswoman for Ohioans Against Unsafe Drug Laws. "They
are the ones with the big bucks and the deep pockets.''

In a related development, Issue 1 campaign spokesman Edward J. Orlett
yesterday challenged state officials' assertion that they are spending $172
million annually on drug treatment.

Orlett said the state actually spent $149 million -- more than half of it
federal money -- in fiscal year 2001. He said that included $118.8 million
spent on direct treatment by the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug
Addiction Services, as well as lesser amounts spent by the departments of
Rehabilitation and Correction and Youth Services and the Office of Criminal
Justice Services.

Foster said Issue 1 opponents stand by the $172 million figure. She accused
issue supporters of putting out a "bewildering fog of numbers.''

Foster offered numbers for the fiscal year that ended June 30, showing that
the Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services spent nearly $120
million on treatment, with the other agencies spending a combined $52 million.