O.C. Health Official Says Federal Drug War Is ‘Lopsided’

Charging that President Bush has waged a “lopsided” war on drugs, the director of Orange County’s substance abuse programs warned Thursday that the loss of $1.6 million in federal funds next year could devastate an already inadequate system to treat the county’s drug addicts.

Long waits--some up to six months--for those trying to get into a county treatment program are “totally unacceptable” and can be expected to worsen if funds are reduced, William Edelman told a state Senate committee on a fact-finding mission about drug abuse.

Edelman, a division manager for the County Health Care Agency, said his budget will drop to $10.6 million--and possibly even lower--next year when a two-year federal grant expires. The federal cuts come at a time of steadily declining state funds, he added.

Although federal funding for drug treatment programs has climbed since 1985, it has increased far less dramatically than the amount of money the government has set aside for law enforcement efforts in the drug war. Of the total amount of federal money spent to combat illicit drugs, 25% goes to treatment programs.

“It’s a lopsided war,” said Edelman, who oversees outpatient clinics and long-term care facilities operated with government funds. “All of our programs have waiting lists . . . and that’s a crime.”

Edelman made his remarks during an emotionally charged hearing held at the County Hall of Administration by state Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Substance Abuse.

Seymour is holding a series of proceedings to review the progress of California’s five-year plan to fight drugs, which was adopted by the Legislature two years ago.

Orange County was criticized for its lack of support for treatment programs. Witnesses ranged from a tearful Anaheim mother, who told of her family’s fear and her 8-year-old son’s constant exposure to drugs, to an upbeat Sheriff Brad Gates, who said the county might be turning the corner on the drug problem.

As evidence, Gates cited a slight decline in drug-related deaths in Orange County over the past two years. In 1988, such deaths peaked at 206. Last year, 194 died. So far this year, there have been 142 fatalities.

“The facts show very clearly that we’ve hopefully reached the top and are starting to go down the back side of the hill just a little bit,” Gates said. “We have come together as a system. . . . We have approached this issue in a very coordinated fashion.”

Recommending that California follow Alaska’s lead, Gates said he would propose legislation to Seymour early next year that would impose prison sentences and stiff fines for possession of even small amounts of marijuana. The current maximum penalty for possessing less than an ounce of grass in California is a $100 fine, he said.

In the day’s most dramatic testimony, several members of a countywide coalition of churches representing an estimated 50,000 families complained that little progress has been made in the war on drugs. They said the county’s politicians have only offered lip service in the fight.

One coalition member, a disillusioned Catholic nun, talked about the fear that stalks her Latino neighborhood. Sister Carmen Sarita, a community worker at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in downtown Santa Ana, said there is danger in the parks, in the laundry rooms and even in the church pews, where drug users occasionally steal unattended valuables.

“I know of women who come to church thinking they will be safe. . . . When they come back from Communion, their purses are gone and so is the rent money,” Sarita said. “Because they are poor, because they speak another language does not mean they are not traumatized by the terrorism, by the fear that exists in their neighborhoods. They bleed like the rest.”

The coalition, known as Orange County Congregation-Community Organizations, prepared a chart to show what members describe as the county’s meager commitment to fighting drugs.

According to the chart, Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay Area has just over half the population of Orange County but spent five times more of its own money on drug treatment programs this year.

Since 1985, Alameda County has more than doubled it allocation for drug treatment to $2.2 million. In contrast, Orange County’s spending on drug programs has dropped to about $434,000.

Moreover, coalition representatives said, not one of the five county supervisors accepted an invitation to attend a drug conference of local religious, political and community leaders that was organized by the group last June.

“It leaves us with serious questions about the commitment of the county,” said Rick C. Connor, a coalition member who attends First Presbyterian Church of Anaheim. “Our families continue to be assaulted by the drug epidemic.”

Maria Alaniz, 38, who lives with her three children in Anaheim, told of her frustration in dealing with politicians. She frequently stopped her testimony to fight back tears.

“Everything I hear is there’s no resources, and we keep fighting,” Alaniz said. “My question is when, Sen. Seymour, are we going to have a safe park?”

Funds For Fighting The War on Drugs The Tale of Two Counties Although Alameda County is almost half the size of Orange County, it spendsfive times more money than Orange County to treat drug users. Amount of money county allocates to drug treatment programs: $2000 (in hundreds of thousands) Alameda County (population 1.3 million) 1985-86: $953 1990-91: $2,210 Orange County (population 2.2 million) 1985-86: $586 1990-91: $434 Source: Orange County Congregation-Community Organizations Total Funding for Orange County Drug Treatment County drug treatment programs are funded by the state, Medi-Cal, the federal government, county funds and other sources of revenue. In 1991 and ‘92, the county will have $1.6 million less to spend on drug treatment because a federal grant expires. 1986-87: $4.7 million 1987-88: $4.9 million 1988-89: $5.0 million 1989-90: $7.8 million 1990-91: $12.2 million 1991-92: $10.6 million Source: Orange County Health Care Agency