Saving Money -- and Lives -- with Drug Treatment

by Matt Kelley · 2009-12-02 05:01:00 UTC
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The Massachusetts House of Representatives went into recess last month without voting on a pending bill that would offer parole to nonviolent prisoners convicted in drug cases.

I wrote about this proposal after the state Senate okayed it, and I’m sad to report that the bill died on its way to the House.The bill addressed the sentences of people serving mandatory minimums, but it also sent a message that we're making a mistake by focusing on punishment rather than treatment and prevention.

An editorial in a suburban Boston paper this week expresses disappointment that the House failed to take action on this issue, pointing out that the state spends more on incarceration than higher education (like several others).

Put aside the fact that substance abuse treatment saves the lives of people plagued by chronic addiction. The savings to taxpayers ought to be enough to force a reconsideration of policies that haven't worked: It costs $48,000 a year to keep an addict in prison, compared to $4,000 to $5,000 for outpatient treatment.

Alternatives to incarceration are working -- programs like outpatient treatment and drug courts are saving money and lives -- and the budget crunch has finally led some states to give them a shot. Hopefully successes in these states will continue to persuade states like Massachusetts to take the plunge.

A Washington Post report this week on drug courts demonstrated that the alternative courts -- which funnel people charged with drug crimes to specific judges and courtrooms equipped to handle their cases wisely and offer a range of alternatives to incarceration -- are working, if you can get into them. Only 10% of drug cases nationwide find their way into drug courts. But the Obama administration wants to expand the programs. The federal government spent $64 million on drug courts this year and Congress could push that spending up to $100 next year.

We have too many people in prison for nonviolent drug crimes, and the slow pace of reform in Massachusetts is a sign of the battles still to be fought across the nation.

Photo by JasonRogers

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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