Jim Bacalles: Druggies "Have to Hit Rock Bottom"

Assemblyman Jim Bacalles voted against a measure to soften the infamous Rockefeller Drug Laws this week, claiming that drug offenders will always choose to undergo treatment vs. serving jail time if given the option. He pondered, "If the choice is 5 to 10 years in prison or going into treatment, which one are they going to choose?"

He continued, “Everything I have been told by alcohol and substance abuse people ... It’s the person who has the problem. They have to say, ‘I have a problem.' They have to hit rock bottom.”

Of course he's right, but he cites no statistics that indicate incarceration is a more successful tool against recidivism than treatment, and the cost savings of treatment compared to a jail cot and three squares-a-day are obvious.

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