Study: Drug Treatment Works Better Than Prison
A new study has found that drug treatment works less than prison--and costs less.
The Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison was launched in 1990 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City after the crack cocaine epidemic deluged the court system with cases.''It makes a phenomenal difference,'' said Joseph Califano, chairman of Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. ''We do not have to throw away the key for a large number of people we thought had no chance.''
The study compared 280 program participants with 130 drug offenders who served prison terms. It found that those in the Brooklyn program were 67 percent less likely to return to prison.
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