READER FEEDBACK
Post a commentAddicts in U.S.: Facing a kinder, gentler war?
NEW YORK - Based on the rhetoric, America's war on drugs seems poised to shift into a more enlightened phase in which treatment of addicts gains favor over imprisonment of low-level offenders. There are many questions, however, about the nation's readiness to turn the talk into reality.
The economic case for expanding treatment, especially amid a recession, seems clear. Study after study concludes that treating addicts costs markedly less than incarcerating them.
According to federal data, 7.6 million Americans needed treatment for illicit drug use in 2008, and only 1.2 million - or 16 percent - received it.
But the prospect of savings on prison and court costs hasn't produced a surge of new fiscal support for treatment.
Money aside, the treatment field faces multiple challenges. At many programs, counselors - often former addicts themselves - are low-paid and turnover is high. Many states have yet to impose effective systems for evaluating programs, a crucial issue in a field where success is relative and relapses inevitable.
