Washblog || Gregoire Signs Anti-Meth Bill

Gregoire Signs Anti-Meth Bill

By thehim
Sun Apr 02, 2006 at 11:59:00 PM PST
Section: Diary Topic: Legislation

[ED: front paged by NM]

Governor Gregoire signed the anti-meth bill into law. It allocates $1.6 million in state funds towards new drug task forces (in pilot projects in some of the rural counties across the state). Drug task forces have had a very poor record, and that's part of the reason why the funding at the Federal level continues to be cut. It also provides more treatment beds, provisions for cleaning up contaminated sites, and continues to allow for non-violent drug offenders to be routed through special drug courts. The task forces will likely be ineffective (or worse, engage in some selective enforcement), but there will at least be metrics:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 105. The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys, and the Washington association of county officials shall jointly develop measures to determine the efficacy of the programs in the pilot areas. These measures shall include comparison of arrest rates before the implementation of this act and after, reduction of recidivism, and any other factors that are determined to be relevant to evaluation of the programs. The organizations named in this section shall present their findings to the legislature by December 1, 2008.
Following drug policy nationwide, this bill is far from being particularly objectionable. This state understands better than most that you can't incarcerate your way out of drug addiction problems and that diverting non-violent offenders into treatment saves money in the long run. But one thing that raised an eyebrow was this new section:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 111. The department of social and health services shall consult with faith-based organizations to discuss the appropriate role that such organizations may have in filling support service delivery needs for persons with chemical dependency disorders. The department shall report findings and recommendations to the legislature by November 1, 2006.

I don't have a problem with faith-based organizations being allowed to participate in rehabilitation in voluntary cases, but if a person's only choice to avoid jail is a faith-based rehab program, that constitutes an endorsement of religion. We already blur this line with our DUI laws, which order people to Alcoholics Anonymous, who recognize God in their treatment methods. We shouldn't go down that road with other substances.

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Gregoire Signs Anti-Meth Bill | 2 comments (2 topical)

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