Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 2002 — Drug bill signed, treatment instead of prison [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Drug bill signed, treatment instead of prison

By Māhealani Kamau 'u Many of our sisters and brothers3 parents, aunts and uncles3 friends and colleagues use illegal drugs. Few ofus, regardless of social or eeonomie status, have escaped the fact of epidemic drug use in Hawai'i. Root causes of the problem are complex and until recently3 Hawai'i's response has been to incarcerate drug users. As a result, many of our family membeis and friends are in prison. In many important ways, our state has been at ihe forefront of social and political reform, but its response to emerging best practices has been lacking in ihe area of treatment for first-time drug offenders . Social and political scientists as well as heallh and prison professionals have long urged treatment instead of incarcaration for firsttime drug offenses. They've known that while prison keeps drug users off ihe streets temporarily, it does little to address or cure ihe overall problem. Thankfully, official state policy is beginning to harmonize wilh public opinion and best professional practices. This past Hawai'i Legislature enacted a law that requires judges to direct nonviolent, fimt-time drug offenders to community-based treatment programs instead of prison. An estimated 85 percent of Hawaii's prison inmates need sub-stance-abuse treatment, and a large number of parolees who violate conditions of their release do so for drug-related reasons. "We do not believe that just putting someone in jail is ihe solution to their drug problems", former Governor Cayetano said upon recently signing ihe drug treatment bill into law. "f/Iore often ihan not, without treatment, a person will slip back

into drug use. It is a serious issue that has a negative ripple effect in ihe community and on our eeonomy," Cayetano added. Proponents of ihe measure told lawmakers that drug treatment programs costhalf ihe amount of keeping someone in prison. The bill requires a major shift in philosophy to deal wilh ihe needs of

drug offenders by requiring nonviolent drug possession offendem to participate in community-based supenusion and treatment, instead of incarceration. Research has demonstrated that substance abuse and addiction are treatable wilhin ihe offender population and appropriate actions by criminal justice professionals ean foster the effectiveness of treatment. This research further demonstrates that the effectiveness of sub-

stance abuse treatment is directly related to ihe length of stay in treatment. The drug and aleohol treatment programs must be accredited by ihe Department of Heallh and must be appropriate in type, duration and intensity based upon ihe length and level of treatment derived from an aleohol and other drug assessment

of eaeh individual's needs, balanced wilhlhe public's right toprotection. Hawai'i's new law represents a shift in philosophy from a criminal justice model of controlling drug use to a public heallh model based on harm reduction. The new law excludes certain offendem from its provisions, such as those who refuse treatment, have failed drug treatment two or more tim.es, or were convicted in ihe same criminal proceeding of a non-drug use misdemeanor or felony.

One model of harm reduction is found in California's Proposition 36: ♦ To divert non-violent offenders, probationers, and parolees charged wilh simple drug possessionor drug use offenses from incarceration into community-based substance abuse treatment programs. ♦ To halt ihe wasteful expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollam annually on ihe incarceration of norrviolent drug possession defendants who would be better served by community-based treatment. ♦ To enhanee public safety by reducing drug-related enme and preserving jails and prison cells for serious and violent offenders, and to improve public heallh by reducing drug abuse and drug dependence through proven and effective drug treatment strategies. The Arizona Justice f/Iodel incorporates a continuum of "best practice" services as opposed toreliance on a single treatment program. The approach includes substance abuse education for ihe low risk offender, intensive programming for ihe medium-to-low risk offender, and shortand long-term residential treatment for ihe high-risk offender. Arizona reporteda success rate in excess of 60 percent relative to treatment eomplianee. The state also saved between six and seven million dollars inone year. The success of this bill is largely attributable to ihe sustained and dedicated efforts of many concerned citizens and organizations. Our community owes a large debt of gratitude to Kat Brady, Coordinator of ihe Community Allianee on Prisons; Dancetta Feary, for her inspired advocacy; and Representative Nestor Garcia for his unwavering leademhip at ihe Legislature. Thanks are also due Representatives Cynthia Thielen and Dennis Arakaki as well as ihe Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i. ■

JT • • •• •• •• Kttkaktika

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(Top row): Doug White, aide to Rep. Nestor Garcia; Martha Torney, coriections specialist, Dept. of Public Safety; Ted Sakai, DPS director; Don Topping, president of Drug Policy Forum of Hawai1 i; Bruce Anderson, director of Dept. of Health. (Bottom row): Rep. Jun Abinsay; Sen. Brian Kanno, chair Judiciary Committee; Rep. Magaoay; Kat Brady, Community Allianee on Prisons; fomrer Governor Benjamin Cayetano (sgning); Rep. Nestor Garcia (chair Publfc Safety Commiittee); Dancetta Feary Kamai, sister of late singer Mackey Feary.