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DrugScreening.org


 
First-Time Drug Offenders in Texas Get Treatment, Not Jail
July 1, 2003

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News Summary

Beginning Sept. 1, first-time drug offenders in Texas will receive mandatory probation and addiction treatment instead of being sent to state jails, the Houston Chronicle reported June 27.

According to a Houston Chronicle report, 35,000 low-level drug offenders were sent to state jails or prisons in the past five years. The law is expected to reduce the state jail population by 2,500 and save $30 million over the next five years.

"You can save money, save lives, ensure public safety," said state Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston). "It's a great investment and return on the dollar to keep people from becoming permanent problems for the state of Texas."

The law applies to first-time felons caught with less than a gram of illegal drugs. Currently, low-level drug offenders are given the option of six months in jail or a longer probation term. Judges said many take the jail time because it's considered the easier way out.

State District Judge Michael T. McSpadden likes the new law, saying it gives judges the discretion to order tougher probation sentences which offenders can't refuse in lieu of jail time.

To prepare for the Sept. 1 effective date, officials are working to establish more treatment facilities. "The governor's criminal-justice division anticipates using grant dollars from the federal level to fund substance-abuse treatment programs around the state," said Gene Acuna, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry. "There will be options."

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