Drug bill focuses on rehab

Despite its hefty price tag, few bills have more support on Capitol Hill this year than SB22, a proposed reformation of the state's attitude toward drug crimes.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., key legislators, the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General's Office support it. Many addicts and those who work with them say the Drug Offender Reform Act — DORA for short — is long overdue.

And a recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll showed that the majority of Utahns favor funneling more tax money toward rehabilitation programs such as drug courts that emphasize treatment first.

Statistics kept by state agencies that monitor drug abuse show that 80 percent of all inmates behind bars in Utah have a foundational drug problem that likely drove them to their crimes. Among women, that figure jumps to 90 percent.

The bill's sponsor believes that law enforcement and courts have made criminals out of people who have a drug problem, often just throwing them behind bars. The state hasn't done enough to line up treatment, he says. At the same time the state hasn't addressed Utah's growing population of drug users and the crimes related to their addiction: theft, fraud, robbery, etc.

If users are sent to prison treatment for their addictions, they turn to crime again once they are released. "This 'let's get tough on crime' is wrong," said Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan and the bill's sponsor. "It sounds good politically, but what we need to say is, 'Let's get smart on crime,' " Buttars said.

That's what those on the front lines of addiction have been saying for years, claiming Utah's judicial system has been a revolving door for drug addicts who commit crimes out of desperation for cash to buy drugs. They serve time only to fall back into their habits with little treatment.

"I had a home, I had everything. I had a family, I had a successful business," Eric P., a recovering addict, told the Deseret Morning News on Tuesday. "Then I got involved with methamphetamine. At first I thought it was a gift from God. The sad part about it was when I knew I had a problem, I couldn't quit, and I wanted to quit."

It wasn't until he was ordered by a judge into drug treatment that his life changed.

"Every time I was released or put back on probation, it was just too much for me. There was no structure, I had nothing to build on."

Drug treatment, he said, gave him the support he needed and is the reason he is now in college.