WRONG VENUE, AGAIN

Citizen groups are getting more savvy about amending the state constitution
rather than bothering to persuade governing bodies to deal with public
concerns more thoroughly and flexibly, by ordinance or law.

The Florida Supreme Court is now deciding whether it's appropriate to place
on the 2002 ballot a constitutional amendment solidifying the "right to
treatment for rehabilitation for nonviolent drug offenses."

If the proposal meets standards for clarity and specificity, voters who
like the idea of drug-treatment programs as an alternative to jail, or even
trial, would have a chance to cast this approach in stone.

This proposed amendment is a sentence full of good intentions mired in
unfathomable mysteries regarding its effect on the judiciary, law
enforcement, the state budget, families, health and who knows what else.

This kind of sweeping drug reform by constitutional amendment - not to
mention others extant such as outlawing birthing boxes for sows - would
undercut the duties and responsibilities of judges, lawmakers and the
executive branch, tying their hands probably for all time.

If this rush to legislate via voter petitions and amendments is a sign of
the peoples' lack of faith in government, that's a deep well of a problem
and one that ought to give all elected officials pause.