STEP UP FUNDING FOR DRUG TREATMENT

Continued Abuse Means Higher Costs, Shattered Lives

Iowa has the fourth-highest rate of methamphetamine addiction in the
country.

So what have Iowa lawmakers done?

They criminalized cold medicine and instituted tougher prison
sentences --but then scrimped on drug-treatment programs.

It has the makings of a "This is Your Legislature on Drugs"
commercial.

It makes absolutely no sense to get tough on drug making, use and
sale without ensuring Iowans have adequate access to drug-treatment
programs to help them get clean, keep their families intact and avoid
prison stays that cost taxpayers millions.

It's time for a little Iowa common sense on this issue.

Attorney General Tom Miller is providing it. He's once again asking
lawmakers to increase spending on substance-abuse treatment. This
year his proposal requests $17 million for drug courts and programs
that serve drug-addicted parents.

His proposal makes a strong case for why Iowa needs to spend more to
get users help.

The Legislature earlier this year adopted a law to limit sales of
medicines containing pseudoephedrine, an ingredient used to make
meth. That's resulted in a decline in meth labs, Miller said, but the
demand for meth hasn't decreased. Drug-related child abuse is on the
rise. About half of all child-welfare cases are meth-related. And
about 80 percent of prisoners have been identified as having a
substance-abuse problem.

"The No. 1 thing we can do to fight crime is to fight drugs, and the
No. 1 thing we can do to fight drugs is to do a better job with drug
treatment," Miller said.

But Iowa is doing worse, not better, on that front. State spending
for drug treatment has declined 13 percent since 2001. According to a
University of Northern Iowa study, 15 percent of Iowa's population
needs drug or alcohol treatment, but only 3 percent receive it in a
given year.

Not spending on treatment may look penny-wise, but it's pound
foolish. Miller cites studies demonstrating that each dollar invested
in in-patient treatment had an economic return of over $9. Outpatient
treatment returned $23.

And treatment works. One study found 65.5 percent of meth users
remained abstinent six months after treatment, compared to only 53.3
percent of marijuana users. And the longer someone is in treatment,
the higher the success rates.

Iowa's drug problem costs taxpayers through prison and human-services
expenditures, clogged courts, lost wages and increased violent
crimes. It's time to take a sober look at expanding treatment as a
way to head off the costly consequences of continued drug abuse.