A reckless approach to drug policy | Columns

In 2013, Colorado completely revamped the criminal code with respect to drug offenses. The push then was to recognize that prison was a last resort for people convicted of drug use and possession. It was to recognize that effective treatment for substance abuse and addiction best promotes public safety. Through this recognition, the General Assembly enacted a law that permitted a felony drug possession to convert to a misdemeanor upon successful completion of the court-ordered treatment. We call it “the Wobbler” because the felony “wobbles down” to a misdemeanor once the treatment is successfully completed. The reason to keep it a felony to begin with was an acknowledgment of evidence-based practices proving that those facing felony consequences are more likely to engage in treatment. In other words, court-forced treatment works and is good policy.

A 2002 study, “Predictors in Engagement in Court-Mandated Treatment,” by Michael Repel and Christine Destefano, published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, revealed that only 55 percent of offenders facing a misdemeanor engaged in treatment, whereas 61 percent of those facing a felony engaged. That number further went up to 69 percent for an offender facing multiple felonies, and rose to a staggering 84 percent for offenders facing a charge that carried mandatory prison. The conclusion of the study was that the threat of incarceration increased the likelihood of treatment success.

It is common knowledge that methamphetamine addiction has long been responsible for many of our thefts, identity thefts, burglaries, and even violent crime. Decreasing treatment engagement will only serve to make our streets less safe and this community less desirable. Decreasing the number of meth and opiate users who engage in treatment is simply bad policy.

Despite all of the work in 2013 to create this model, the current Legislature in our new, more drug-friendly Colorado has chosen a course that threatens public safety. I commend our local legislators, Reps. Matt Soper and Janice Rich, and Sen. Ray Scott for opposing this bill and urge them to continue to fight for our safety here on the West Slope.

Dan Rubinstein is the district attorney for the 21st Judicial District of Colorado, and has served on Colorado Commission of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Drug Policy Task Force, the State Meth Task Force and the Mesa County Meth Task Force.