DRUG COURTS MAKE SENSE

Our prisons are a revolving door for drug addicts. Two decades ago, we
passed laws that require harsh penalties for drug offenders - and our
prison population has doubled since 1986. Nearly a quarter of current
prisoners are nonviolent drug offenders.

Ask any police officer, and they'll tell you that nine out of 10 people
arrested are either drunk or high when they're handcuffed and put in the
back of a squad car. Prosecutors will tell you that the addicts they send
to prison who don't kick the habit wind up right back in the courtroom -
and back in prison.

You and I, as taxpayers, pay the bill. And it keeps going up, even though
crime is at a 30-year low. We have been tough on crime. Now it's time to
get smart on crime.

We need to hold addicts who commit crimes not just accountable for their
crimes - but for their addiction.

A measure we introduced in the Legislature will do just that. House Bill
2338 would reduce penalties for nonviolent drug offenders, and put the
savings into drug courts and drug treatment. This proposal is supported by
police, prosecutors, judges and defense lawyers - all of the actors in our
criminal-justice system - because they know that treatment is the best way
to break the cycle of addiction and crime.

Our proposal retains tough penalties for serious drug offenders, but gives
nonviolent drug offenders an alternative - drug court. The 12 drug courts
operating across the state have proven that drug addicts can be held
accountable for their own recovery. If they don't agree to tight court
supervision, or they fail their mandatory drug tests, they go to jail. Drug
courts are cost-effective - and they change people's lives.

Two years ago, Kimberly Whitten was what many people would describe as a
hopeless drug addict. In and out of jail for years, she was unable to care
for her daughter and could not hold down a job or an apartment. She was
trapped in a cycle of addiction - committing crimes to support her habit.

All that changed in 1999 when she was arrested and referred to Clark
County's drug court. Whitten, with a lot of hard work and under the
watchful eye of the drug court judge, broke the cycle. Today, she is
working, drug free and, most importantly, is once again caring for her
3-year-old daughter.

Let's hold drug addicts accountable for kicking the habit, getting a job
and taking care of their families rather than automatically putting them in
prison. It's time to stop the revolving door.

Rep. Ruth Kagi (left), D-Lake Forest Park, and Rep. Ida Ballasiotes
(right), R-Mercer Island, are co-sponsors of House Bill 2338, reforming the
sentencing guidelines for drug offenders. Both members serve on the House
Criminal Justice & Corrections Committee.