wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

News

Corzine, Forrester Agree on Drug Treatment

by Bob Hennelly

NEW YORK, NY November 07, 2005 —Despite the bitter tome of the New Jersey gubernatorial campaign Republican Doug Forrester and Democrat Jon Corzine actually agree on some things. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: New Jersey has the highest percentage of inmate incarceration for non-violent drug offenses in the country, costing more than $250 million annaully. Both men want to move away from the criminalization of drug abuse in favor of treatment.

FORRESTER: We got to be smart here. Substance abuse is something that needs to be dealt with in terms of treatment, in terms of education, not principaly in incarceration.

REPORTER: Both say the current approach has broken up families. Senator Corzine

CORZINE: We have common ground there. I have spoken out about this. The reality is we have far too many men, particularly of color, in the prisons mostly as a part of the evolution of the drug problems.

REPORTER: Other items on the common agenda: an elected State Auditor to ride herd on the state's multiple governments and authorities, and a homeland secuirty czar reporting directly to the new Governor--- whoever that is. For WNYC I am Bob Hennelly.


Supported By