ALAN CHOATE - Daily Herald | Posted: Monday, February 5, 2007 11:00 pm
Two anti-drug bills advanced in the Utah Senate on Monday -- one aimed at expanding treatment for addiction, the other seeking to limit access to the ingredients for making methamphetamine.
The first is the Drug Offenders Reform Act, which would direct the state's corrections institutions to interview felons to see if they would benefit from drug treatment. It would also appropriate $17 million for more drug treatment slots.
"DORA is a win all the way around," said sponsor Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan. "Treatment works. Drug treatment really works if you give it enough time and you have the right population."
Between 75 percent and 80 percent of inmates have a drug problem underlying their crime, he said. With women inmates, that figure is as high as 85 percent to 90 percent.
Not all inmates will qualify for the expanded treatment, and some will fail and end up committing crimes again, he added. But the program could free up more than 1,000 prison beds that would otherwise be occupied, which in turn saves the state money and makes it unnecessary to enlarge state prisons.
It costs about $24,000 to house an inmate for a year versus about $4,000 for treatment through DORA.
The Legislature approved a pilot version of DORA for Salt Lake County in 2005. While lawmakers are often wary about expanding government, it makes sense to back this effort, said Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo.
"It does expand one program," Bramble said. "But it reduces another program -- called incarceration."
Buttars also sponsored the other bill, which would enact further restrictions on methamphetamine manufacturing.
Under his legislation, products containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine could not be sold over the counter and retailers would have to keep a log of who purchased them. People could buy products containing no more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine in any single transaction, and could possess no more than 9 grams at a time.
Those substances are stimulants that are commonly used as decongestants.
The bill would also increase the penalty for operating a meth lab to three years to 15 years in prison.
Both bills passed their first Senate vote on Monday without opposition, and must pass one more vote before going to the House of Representatives.
SB 50, Drug Offenders Reform Act, Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan
Expands a program that offers drug treatment to people who are convicted of felony crimes.
SB 112, Methamphetamine Precursor Access Amendments, Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan
Imposes restrictions on buying products that contain the active ingredient for methamphetamine, and increases the penalty for running a meth lab.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A3.