Drug Treatment

In the fall of 2000, the state of California passes a referendum that prescribes treatment, rather than punishment, for certain first- and second-time drug offenses. Although a get-tough approach to drugs is often said to be the mandate of the people, in this case 61% of California voters supported the reform — known as Proposition 36 on the November ballot. Clearly, the public is beginning to recognize alternatives. Early the next year, discussions of similar legislation are underway in New York.

Are these examples anomalies, or is the tide turning? There is definitely a growing consensus that the war on drugs cannot be won. Scholars and doctors have long criticized a punitive approach to drugs, and now policy makers are beginning to agree. Many, including agents employed by the DEA, believe America's drug policy has been an expensive misstep, a sinkhole that bypasses the roots of the problem and wastes resources. Prisons and law enforcement have proliferated, yet drugs are as available as ever — and cheaper. The number of hard-core drug addicts hovers around 5 million, exactly where it was in the 1970s, even though the rate of recreational use fluctuates. Only time will tell if this period is the dawn of a treatment-focused approach to the nation's drug problem or another half-hearted stab at reform.

Tata buys crack at the "hole" Brenda Ann Keanneally, Bushwick 99