cannabisnews.com: Arizona Holds Lesson for California Drug Treatment Arizona Holds Lesson for California Drug Treatment Posted by FoM on December 23, 2000 at 15:00:17 PT By Don Thompson, Associated Press Writer Source: S.F. Gate A quarter of first-time criminal drug offenders walk away from court-ordered treatment programs in Arizona's largest metropolitan area -- and there's nothing judges or prosecutors can do about it. The high dropout rate among drug offenders is Arizona's toughest problem since voters passed Proposition 200, which mandated treatment instead of prison or jail for those convicted of using or possessing illegal drugs. California could soon confront the same problem as it rushes to implement a similar proposal -- Proposition 36, passed by voters last month. Indeed, the four years of experience Arizona has with its drug treatment programs gives California some real-life lessons for its own plan. For example, rather than threatening drug offenders with prison, Arizona law enforcement officials now offer rewards such as zoo tickets and ice cream cones to offenders who stay clean. Instead of a weekend in jail, punishments include a weekend picking up trash. While California might also have to shift philosophy, its problems will be far greater because it has a larger population, more inmates, and already crowded probation and treatment programs. Arizona had to treat about 6,000 offenders each year. California is projected to have 36,000 offenders -- six times as many -- and its existing community treatment programs already have long waiting lists. By law, Arizona caps each probation officer's caseload at 60. Caseloads in California routinely top 300. ``Do drugs, do time'' once was the slogan of prosecutors in conservative Maricopa County, where the bulk of Arizona's population lives, including in the cities of Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale. Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Colleen McNally used to operate her drug court much as California judges do now: offenders who tested dirty for drugs or failed to show up for treatment or counseling sessions were immediately handcuffed and led away to spend a few days in the county jail. These days, McNally has traded her stick for a carrot. She hands out tickets to the Phoenix Zoo or Arizona Science Museum to those who stay clean. She leads her crowded courtroom in applause for those who advance to a less-restrictive treatment program. ``I give them these little polished stones when they graduate,'' McNally said. ``It was just an afterthought, but they talk about it. A lot of these people don't have a lot of self-esteem. ``Little things mean a lot, that's what I noticed,'' she said. ``My first thought was they were going to be disdainful of zoo tickets, but they weren't. Those guys with the tattoos like the zoo tickets, too -- they just like the recognition.'' In Arizona, those caught using drugs or skipping 12-step treatment programs are punished with community service work or required to sit through a full day observing endlessly repetitive drug court proceedings. Those who can't seem to kick their habit on the street are offered residential treatment. But some, like 35-year-old Robert Morrison of Phoenix, simply refuse. Morrison tested positive for methamphetamines Oct. 23, then skipped three additional drug tests and a court appearance. When Morrison refused residential treatment, McNally terminated his drug court participation and ordered him back into three years of standard probation. But Morrison walked out of her courtroom essentially a free man, albeit with a permanent felony drug record. ``She told me I had to go to rehab, and I was like, 'The hell with that -- I can't afford 28 days (off work),''' Morrison said moments later. ``What we're finding in Arizona, in a relatively short-term study, is approximately 25 percent of probationers are thumbing their nose at the judge,'' said Barnett Lotstein, a special assistant Maricopa County prosecutor. Zachary Dal Pra, the county's deputy chief probation officer, estimated the number may be closer to 30 percent. Arizona is only now beginning to study the effectiveness of its programs, but a preliminary study by the Arizona Supreme Court found 61 percent graduated while 39 percent failed to complete treatment. About 76 percent stayed drug-free during the program, the court found. Carey McGrath, who oversees the county's drug court counselors, said the new system appears to be resulting in fewer positive drug tests. ``So something's working,'' she said. ``There's definitely a different feeling in the courtroom. You don't see people sitting in their chairs quaking in fear.'' However, San Diego Superior Court Judge James Milliken said he was ``appalled'' when he observed Arizona's program in January and saw how many offenders like Morrison skip treatment. ``We're going to create a program that's more rigorous,'' Milliken insisted. ``If they relapse, we can't put them in custody -- but we can put them in a residential treatment program that they aren't going to like any better. ``We're not going to take 'No' for an answer,'' said Milliken, who sits on San Diego County's Substance Abuse Policy Advisory Committee. ``We're going to insist on residential treatment and if they refuse, to me that means they're not amenable to treatment and we can pack them off to prison.'' Arizona judges and prosecutors sought similar ways around Proposition 200's incarceration ban, only to be repeatedly struck down by the state Supreme Court. By necessity, they are slowly switching to a system of rewards instead of punishment. Judges and probation officers are toying with offering offenders everything from ice cream cones to community college tuition vouchers. But some offenders seem unreachable, and they just walk away. ``The court is basically saying we don't have any way to supervise you, so we're going to release you back into the community with no supervision and wait for you to commit another crime,'' said probation officer Dal Pra. Source: Associated PressAuthor: Don Thompson, Associated Press WriterPublished: December 23, 2000Copyright: 2000 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:California Campaign For New Drug Policyhttp://www.drugreform.org/Public Losing Its Stomach For Drug Warhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8060.shtml Officials Gather To Change Drug Policies http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8053.shtmlCalifornia Regrouping in Drug War http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7647.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #17 posted by FoM on December 25, 2000 at 09:36:22 PT Thanks Kathleen Kathleen that was a nice thing to share with us your staying straight for the Holidays. Thanks! Merry Christmas, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by kathleen on December 25, 2000 at 09:16:01 PT: Does anyone remember Hitler's regime? What.. I think people were judged and seperated and killed because they didn't fit into one man's government...not only were really kool jewish people destroyed but handicapped people too. Germans who disagreed with the one man's government stayed and were killed or they fled....sounds like the US government on marijuana smokers...when will the government really be a reflection of its own people...people can start leaving the US and moving to other countries in order to be and do what they want, they can work there and pay taxes to that government too.Still wishing it was legal in Florida...merry christmas and happy holidays...staying straight this year for the holidays..... [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by freedom fighter on December 24, 2000 at 11:13:15 PT a white christmas dream "I dream of tolerance with truth with those who have zero tolerance. So that one day, when the time comes, the eyes and ears are open to see and hear the truth. The last thing left standing is Tolerance with Truth."Merry Christmasff [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by mungojelly on December 24, 2000 at 10:31:56 PT: Do they need treatment? Some of those 25% are certainly casual users who have no desire to be in "treatment" for their "addiction" because they do not have an addiction. This myth that anyone who uses an addictive drug instantly becomes an addict is very very dangerous; I think that it is part of why I became a nicotine addict -- I started smoking an occasional cigarette and I didn't instantly become addicted, so I thought I was safe. I'm sure the same thing happens with people who get into heroin: they try it a few times and they don't instantly become a raving addict as they were taught to expect, so they think that they are safe. Lies kill. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by dddd on December 24, 2000 at 10:24:02 PT newt FreedomFighter...I think that newt once tried to suggest the death penalty for drug dealers. I think that most likely there have been some dangerously loony pols out their who said "death to weed smokers....Similar things have happened in the past;17th century In Russia, Czar Michael Federovitch executes anyone on whom tobacco is found. "Czar Alexei Mikhailovitch rules that anyone caught with tobacco should be tortured until he gave up the name of the supplier." [Ibid.] c. 1650 The use of tobacco is prohibited in Bavaria, Saxony, and in Zurich, but the prohibitions are ineffective. Sultan Murad IV of the Ottoman Empire decrees the death penalty for smoking tobacco: "Whereever there Sultan went on his travels or on a military expedition his halting-places were always distinguished by a terrible rise in executions. Even on the battlefield he was fond of surprising men in the act of smoking, when he would punish them by beheading, hanging, quartering or crushing their handsand feed. . . . Nevertheless, in spite of all the horrors and persecution. . . the passion for smoking still persisted." [Edward M.Brecher et al., *Licit and Illicit Drugs*, p. 212] ...............................................................................dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by freedom fighter on December 24, 2000 at 09:57:46 PT Is Newt the same dude who thought it was a good idea to start killing potheads? [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by MikeEEEEE on December 24, 2000 at 07:11:56 PT Another One Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind.By George Orwell [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by MikeEEEEE on December 24, 2000 at 07:09:01 PT Wisdom observer, I really like those quotes. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on December 23, 2000 at 23:20:24 PT Pink Floyd Hi dddd, It was on Dark Side of the Moon. I love that song,Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by dddd on December 23, 2000 at 23:09:33 PT good song FoM,Who wrote that song? [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 23, 2000 at 22:59:47 PT Hi dddd If people were given the chance to experiment with drugs they would get tired of being all weird and spaced out all the time. People just by human nature want to achieve something with their lives and usually drugs in excess drives a wedge into that dream. That's usually when a person says I've got to straighten up. This song reminds me of life.TimeTicking away the moments that make up a dull dayYou fritter and waste the hours in an off hand wayKicking around on a piece of ground in your home townWaiting for someone or something to show you the wayTired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rainYou are young and life is long and there is time to kill todayAnd then the one day you find ten years have got behind youNo one told you when to run, you missed the starting gunAnd you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinkingAnd racing around to come up behind you againThe sun is the same in the relative way, but you're olderAnd shorter of breath and one day closer to deathEvery year is getting shorter, never seem to find the timePlans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled linesHanging on in quiet desparation in the English wayThe time is gone the song is over, thought I'd something more to say [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by dddd on December 23, 2000 at 22:49:13 PT treatment I know what you mean FoM. In a way,part of the problem is that there is no known "treatment",for something that doesnt even need "treatment". The word "treatment",is based on the false assumption that anyone who gets caught possessing or using an "illegal" drug,has a problem.In most cases,the only problem that needs "treatment",is the laws under which they got busted with in the first place. A "problem",that has been largely created by absurd laws,is only a problem because of the laws.It's no wonder they cant figure out how to treat a problem that only exsists as a result of the false creation of the "problem" itself. The use of drugs is far less of a problem than what happens if you are caught using drugs...............................dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 23, 2000 at 21:13:20 PT My 2 cents I have very confused thoughts on what Prop 36 is all about. I purposely don't think very much about the articles because I want to remain as neutral as I can. I know how the laws are and I understand how a treatment alternative is better then prison but how will they treat anyone? Who is skilled in helping someone detox off of drugs or will that happen? I don't know. I have said before that I was dependant on prescription drugs and had to admit myself to a hospital to detox. They didn't help me. I made it on my own. It was a very bad mental experience on top of my being so sick. How will the treatment of people be under Prop 36? Why if a person can't give up drugs and decides that he or she wants to eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we shall die why can't they? Why can't people have that right as long as they don't cause any harm to another person? A victimless crime.As far as I'm concerned if a family has a person with a drug problem it should be up to the family to help them. Some people just can't be helped though. They will die and that is being realistic. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by mungojelly on December 23, 2000 at 20:51:39 PT: any animal trainer will tell you Any animal trainer will tell you: positive reinforement works. Punishment does not. As a species we seem to be smarter in dealing with other species than we are at dealing with our own (perhaps we can see them with more objectivity). When humans are involved we have a nasty tendancy to assume that basic instinctual/emotional rules do not apply, that if we attempt to modify behavior solely through punishing "wrong" behavior, we will produce a rational attempt at avoiding punishment instead of plain old anger and fear. Let's look at the basic number which they have so valiantly attempted to spin in this article: a 75% success rate. Perhaps I am naive, but it seems to me that represents tremendous success. What is the failure rate of jail? Nearly 100% remain in the "program" until they are released, certainly, but in terms of integrating people with society or helping them overcome problems, the effect of jail is more often NEGATIVE than positive. It is true anecdotally and it is true statistically: people come out of jail more violent, more antisocial, more prone to commit crimes. Now that the "lock em all up" phase is waning, drug warriors have a whole load of doublethink to keep straight. They tell the public that heroin must remain illegal because it is a dangerous drug which ruins lives, and then they help those poor souls who use it by locking them up for a few years with the most violent, misanthropic elements of society. How long can they keep up such a charade? It's a matter of this: how long can they get away with discussing prohibition without using that dirty word J-A-I-L? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by dddd on December 23, 2000 at 20:47:16 PT Good quotes Observer Here's another; "A society becomes totalitarian when it structure becomes flagrantly artificial:that is, when it ruling class has lost its function but suceeds in clinging to power by force or fraud. Such a society, no matter how long it persists, can never afford to become either tolerant or intellectually stable. It can never permit either the truthful recording of facts, or the emotional sincerity, that literary creation demands. -- George Orwell, "The Prevention of Literature." [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on December 23, 2000 at 20:24:07 PT A black robe vermin in action However, San Diego Superior Court Judge James Milliken said he was ``appalled'' when he observed Arizona's program in January and saw how many offenders like Morrison skip treatment. ``We're going to create a program that's more rigorous,'' Milliken insisted. ``If they relapse, we can't put them in custody -- but we can put them in a residential treatment program that they aren't going to like any better. ``We're not going to take 'No' for an answer,'' said Milliken, who sits on San Diego County's Substance Abuse Policy Advisory Committee. ``We're going to insist on residential treatment and if they refuse, to me that means they're not amenable to treatment and we can pack them off to prison.'' [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by observer on December 23, 2000 at 19:24:39 PT LuSt to Puni$h Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. -- C.S. Lewis, in "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment," an essay from "God In The Dock" Totalitarianism is when people believe they can punish their way to perfection. -- House Speaker Newt Gingrich, at a President's Day Republican fundraiser, May 1998 Mistrust those in whom the urge to punish is strong. -- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: