Thursday, December 13, 2001
A broad coalition of Washington doctors, lawyers and pharmacists are calling for an end the to the state’s punitive drug war. A study released by the coalition concludes that imprisoning drug users is not cost-effective and that simple possession should be decriminalized. Leaders of the King County Bar Association, Washington State Bar Association, Washington State Medical Association, King County Medical Society and the Washington State Pharmacy Association are all advocating for a public health alternative to the costly drug war. In Washington penalties for minor drug sales are longer than penalties for violent crimes like assault and robbery. Like many states, Washington is finding that it cannot afford to keep locking up non-violent drug offenders at current rates and is seeking cost-effective alternatives to a zero tolerance drug war. Bills are expected to be introduced in early 2002 that would reduce sentences for minor drug sales.
According to Fred Noland, former president of the King County Bar Association serving Seattle, “[w]e need to shift from a punitive legal model to a public health model.” Among the recommendations of the coalition are expanded access to needle exchange programs; prison-based drug treatment and methadone maintenance therapy; reality-based drug education; and treatment on demand. Currently, treatment is only available to roughly 20% of Washington residents in need. In addition to offering expanded drug treatment, the report suggests that underlying social and psychological factors that lead to problem drug use should be addressed.
The report finds fault with ineffective programs like the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program and the lack of understanding surrounding relapse, a common occurrence among problem users struggling with addiction. California and Arizona treatment initiatives placed on the ballot by Lindesmith-DPF’s sister organization, the California-based Campaign for New Drug Policies, are being cited as cost-effective models for alternatives to incarceration. The Arizona court administrator’s office estimates that the diversion of drug offenders into treatment saved the state $7.7 million in 1999. California’s Proposition 36 was passed too recently to be evaluated, but the savings to California taxpayers are likely to be substantially larger.
The full report can be downloaded as a PDF file.
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