Key Findings: A Survey of South Carolina Voters on Drug Use, Treatment & Pregnancy

In October of 2002, Global Strategy Group, Inc. conducted a statewide survey of 600 registered South Carolina voters on issues of importance to South Carolina families for the National Advocates for Pregnant Women. Survey questions probed voters’ perceptions of a range of topics including drug use, drug treatment, and pregnancy in South Carolina.

Key Findings

Voters, however, are skeptical of conventional, punitive measures used to address the problem of drug use. A majority of South Carolina voters believe that the war on drugs has been ineffective (52 percent) in reducing illegal drug use in South Carolina.

Voters look to treatment as a more effective means of addressing the issue of drug use than prison.
- Seven in ten South Carolina voters (71 percent) believe that the best way to attack the problem of drug use is to help addicts and users get treatment compared to 23 percent who believe users should be put behind bars.

Voters understand the efficacy of treatment in fighting drug addiction and ensuring the health and well-being of South Carolina’s families. When asked how local government should respond to the issue of women who are pregnant and using illegal drugs, voters are three times more likely to opt for treatment than jail time².
- Two-thirds of voters believe that if a woman is caught using drugs while she is pregnant she should have access to comprehensive health and drug treatment services (39 percent) or that she should be sent for mandatory treatment (27 percent).
- Less than two in ten voters believe she should be arrested (10 percent) or punished under the law (9 percent); and only 4 percent believe that she should not be arrested, but her children should be taken from her.
- Seventy percent also believe that tax dollars spent on building prisons could be better spent increasing the number of drug treatment programs available to pregnant women.

Unfortunately, treatment is hard to come by, and South Carolina voters recognize the need for more drug treatment centers throughout the state. Half of South Carolina voters (50 percent) believe the state does not have enough alcohol and drug treatment centers.

Voters stand behind their commitment to drug treatment programs and would be willing to pay to expand the availability of drug treatment centers in South Carolina. Fifty-three percent of voters say they would be willing to pay an additional $100 in state taxes to expand the availability of treatment, including two in ten (20 percent) who would be very willing.

_{1 Global Strategy Group, Inc. was commissioned to conduct this survey on behalf of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women. The survey reached 600 registered voters in the state of South Carolina. The survey was conducted between October 2nd and 6th, 2002. The margin of error at the 95% confidence level is ±4.0% on the overall sample. The margin of error on sub-samples is higher.
2 Split Sampled Question - Asked of only half of respondents.
3 Split Sampled Question - Asked of only half of respondents}