Drugs & Prison Policy

Drawing from the new report, Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Policy, Joseph A. Califano Jr. argues that drug treatment is essential to reducing crime outside prison and improving the environment within. This is not a liberal or conservative issue, he argues, but should be embraced by all politicians interested in fighting crime. According to Behind Bars II, 65 percent of the U.S. prison population suffer from drug or alcohol addiction. Mr. Califano, a former aide to Lyndon Johnson, cabinet member under Jimmy Carter and the current chairman of the National Center on Substance Abuse and Control at Columbia University, also discusses the challenges facing Catholics in the public square.