DRUG TREATMENT IS WORTH THE COST

It has been said that a conservative is a liberal who has been the victim
of a crime, while a liberal is a conservative who has been charged with a
crime.

The arrest of Noelle Bush, the 24-year-old daughter of Gov. Jeb and Columba
Bush, on charges of faking a prescription for the antianxiety drug Xanax,
has forced the state's First Family into a delicate political balancing act
- -- offering liberal-sounding rhetoric about the need for drug treatment and
prevention, but apparently sticking to a short-sighted conservative plan to
slash drug treatment programs offered by the Department of Corrections.

Bush on Monday touted his support of the state's successful drug court
system, and boasted of his recommendation to boost spending on drug
prevention. Yet his proposed budget lops $7.5 million from prison-based
drug treatment programs, and $5.7 million from residential and outpatient
programs. Beds provided by community-based drug treatment centers would be
cut from 1,900 to 1,250.

Florida thus is attempting to solve a serious public health problem on the
cheap.

That Noelle Bush is a member of a strong, loving -- and wealthy -- family
just about guarantees she will get the treatment she needs. But what of
those who can't afford private referrals, or who lack the capable support
of loved ones?

It's bad enough that so many Florida substance abusers aren't introduced to
treatment until they go to jail. Twenty-eight percent of Florida's new
prisoners had a drug or alcohol problem last year; 23 percent of the entire
prison population last year -- some 17,000 inmates -- were enrolled in
treatment programs.

In this slapdash manner, Florida uses its jails and prisons as a kind of
drug abuse triage site for those who aren't as fortunate as Noelle Bush.
This is far from ideal, since many of those substance-abusing suspects
victimized some innocent person to be introduced into the penal system.

Still, treating abusers late -- in jail -- is better than never. Herald
reporter Carol Marbin Miller reported that seven in 10 prisoners who
completed drug treatment programs either in prison or outside under court
supervision during 1998-99 had not returned to prison after two years.

That means: no new criminal victims, no new burdens on police, no new court
costs, no new prison beds filled, and hopefully, no additional children,
spouses and relatives driven into despair over a dysfunctional loved one.

Unfortunately, trying to place value on what didn't happen might be
classified as "liberal" accounting -- you know the savings occurred, but
they can't be toted up on a spread sheet. "Conservative" accounting
typically measures only hard dollars -- and so, Bush is reduced to
proposing an end to programs that work.

To his credit, Jeb Bush has chosen to discuss his family's problems,
reversing his earlier pleas to the media to not discuss his daughter's
arrest. That decision could help other families coping with a substance
abuser overcome the weight of shame that often discourages their search for
help. Jeb and Columba Bush say their daughter's case deepened their
sensitivity to substance abuse. So, too, President George and Laura Bush,
whose daughters have run afoul of the law for underage drinking.

But will the Bush families use their experience to educate the American
public about the wisdom of investing public dollars in substance-abuse
treatment?

Will they affirm that the best way to save money -- not to mention lives
and preventable suffering -- is to make treatment available to more, not
fewer, of those who need it?

Conservatives who like to preach small government choke on the word
"spend." Yet after education, there may not be a wiser or more necessary
dollar a state can spend than in drug treatment and prevention.