Legal Drugs No Answer, Capizzi Says : Rebuttal: In a talk before a church group, the district attorney counters the arguments advanced by a judge who favors decriminalization.

The nation is winning the battle against drugs, and proposals to decriminalize narcotics would lead to wider use and increased crime, the county’s top criminal justice official said Sunday.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi called for more law enforcement and a program to win the minds of America’s youth as ways to continue fighting drugs.

“We are winning the war on drugs, not at the pace we’d like, but we are making strides,” Capizzi told a meeting of about two dozen churchgoers at Aldersgate Methodist Church in Tustin.

Capizzi appeared Sunday to counter widespread publicity generated by a proposal to decriminalize drugs that Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray advanced there earlier this year. Capizzi was invited by the congregation, which wanted to balance an earlier appearance by Gray, who is a member of the church.

Gray’s controversial proposal to legalize cocaine, marijuana and heroin, which has been echoed by at least one other Orange County judge, is “an ill-conceived idea and will result in crimes going up,” Capizzi said.

“You won’t avoid the Rosie Alfaros of society,” he said, “you will have more.” Maria (Rosie) del Rosio Alfaro of Anaheim is the 20-year-old mother of four who received a death sentence this month for fatally stabbing a 9-year-old girl during a burglary and robbery. Alfaro blamed her actions on her drug addiction.

Rather, Capizzi said, what is needed is a combination of law enforcement and “brainwashing” of young children to persuade them to avoid drugs.

“It is the only hope for future generations. For many in the current generation, it is too late,” Capizzi said.

Capizzi debated point for point the arguments Gray raised a few months ago in that same Fellowship Hall. Gray did not attend the session Sunday.

In his remarks, Capizzi gave the following responses to the contentions drug-legalization proponents have made:

* The sale of drugs will be limited to adults through government stores.

“How can you limit something that’s legal to sell? Every supermarket, drugstore and AM-PM would be selling drugs.”

* Drugs would be sold in plain wrappers.

“How can you restrict the sale if it’s legal? Does not the First Amendment allow ads and marketing?” Where alcohol ads are now visible at ballparks and athletic facilities, Capizzi predicted ads for “Rocky Mountain High pure cocaine.”

* The cost will drop 75%.

“How do you do that? With government subsidies?” Capizzi argued that working people would end up subsidizing drug users, whose habits would render them incapable of work.

* Lower prices would drive drug dealers out of the market.

“They are not the heart of the problem. . . . It won’t stop related crimes of auto thefts, forgeries, bad checks, robberies. . . While I might be able to eliminate the narcotics unit, I will need even more to handle the increased crimes as more users are incapable of working resort to crime to support their habit and other necessities of life.”

* Other countries have experienced decreased drug-related problems after legalization.

Capizzi said that basing predictions of the effects of decriminalization here on the experiences of other nations is hazardous because the U.S. criminal justice system is so different.

“Other countries don’t have the same laws. . . . We have appeals that take 10 to 11 years. In England, you can resolve a case in a matter of months.”

Delays in the system come from such things as the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and the so-called Miranda rule, which gives suspects the right to legal counsel. Both have helped lead to the present logjam of drug cases in the courts. “There are so many roadblocks in the system,” he said. As a result, violators have reasonable doubts about whether they will be caught, convicted, or receive any meaningful sentence.

In addition, he noted that for some, time in jail means an improvement in lifestyle. “In other countries, maybe their jails are not so nice a place to be,” he said.

Although some listeners obviously agreed with Capizzi, most appeared skeptical.

Scott Whitcomb, for example, suggested that Rosie Alfaro had committed murder because of the amount of money she needed for drugs. “Perhaps if she had not needed so much, there would have only been a loss of property, not a loss of life,” Whitcomb said. “If you don’t need the money, wouldn’t (drug-related crime) go down?” he asked.

Another man said that the idea of legalization is contrary to everything he stood for but that Gray had appealed to his sense of frustration with his assertion that current policies are not working.

Mary Jane Darrow asked whether it would be helpful to fund more recovery programs in jails for drug violators. Capizzi replied that “all programs are for naught” unless the individual wants to get back on his feet.

Capizzi said nothing to persuade 14-year-old Doug Talbert, who said he remains convinced that legalization would decrease costs and related crime.