BUSH WISELY INCREASES DRUG TREATMENT FUNDS

Federal drug spending has long been out of balance. Last week, in a welcome
policy shift, President Bush nudged the needle toward treatment and away
from punishment.

Saying "the best way to affect supply is to reduce demand for drugs," Bush
announced $357 million in additional spending for treatment programs. The 6
percent growth is one of the few items, other than defense, to receive such
an increase.

There's still a long way to go to help the 3.9 million drug-dependent
Americans whom Bush acknowledged need treatment but haven't gotten it.
Bush's budget would include enough money to treat an estimated 550,000
people -- 50,000 more than last year.

Even with extra dollars, treatment would constitute only 20 percent of the
$19.2 billion that Washington would spend to fight illegal drugs. Money for
border interdiction would increase 10 percent.

Making treatment a higher priority is hardly novel. Voters have been
telling Congress and legislatures to stop piling on sentences and throwing
up more prisons for drug users -- policies that have contributed to a
tripling of prison population in the past two decades.

As Bush noted, it costs $25,000 a year to imprison someone who committed a
crime to support a drug habit -- four to eight times the cost of placing
that person in outpatient therapy.

Californians and Arizonans passed initiatives requiring that drug treatment
be offered to non-violent offenders in lieu of prison. In November, Ohio,
Michigan and Florida will consider similar measures.

Bush, who struggled with alcohol until he stopped drinking at 40, can
empathize with the public sentiment. His 24-year-old niece, who has been
accused of prescription fraud, recently was admitted to a treatment program.

In passing Proposition 36, Californians earmarked $120 million a year for
five years for those facing criminal charges. It's early to judge whether
that will be enough to treat everyone eligible for rehab. But there are
other large gaps in the system. The 9,500 treatment beds in state prisons
meet a tiny fraction of the need. Only half of prisoners who go through
rehab are assigned to transitional housing, which is critical to keep
addicts clean and sober.

Juvenile treatment may be the biggest unmet need. Santa Clara County has
only 10 beds for juvenile addicts.

Because of cuts in state and county financing, the Santa Clara County
Department of Alcohol and Drug Services is facing a 10 percent cut in its
$40 million budget next year.

More federal money is good news, if only to keep the county from losing
ground in the struggle against addiction.