WASHINGTON: REDUCING TERMS FOR DRUG OFFENDERS

Gov. Gary Locke signed a bill that will reduce prison sentences for
nonviolent drug and property offenders. The governor, a Democrat, said the
law would support existing drug rehabilitation efforts by reducing prison
time for first-time heroin and cocaine offenders and transferring the
savings realized by the state on incarceration costs to programs to treat
addiction. The majority of the money, 75 percent, would go to county drug
courts and court-supervised treatment programs.