Low-income juveniles and parents facing drug charges would receive addiction treatment rather than prison under a six-county pilot program endorsed by Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, the Columbus Dispatch reported May 16.

The $2.5-million project is limited to recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients. In 2002, Taft was a vocal opponent of a proposed constitutional amendment that would have required treatment over prison for most low-level drug offenders in Ohio. The governor said his new plan would "help individuals to assume a productive role in society rather than a long-term member of Ohio's prison system."

A Taft spokesperson said that Issue 1, rejected by Ohio voters in 2002, was "flawed and full of loopholes." Ed Orlett, the Ohio representative for the Drug Policy Alliance, called Taft's proposal a "very small step in the right direction."

"In spite of the mean-spirited opposition he offered to our statewide drug-treatment issue in 2002, we believe in redemption for anyone, including Gov. Taft," Orlett said.

The pilot program would operate in Franklin, Allen, Hamilton, Mahoning, Richland, and Washington counties.