On June 17, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into a law a bill that allows for a defendant accused of a low-level drug crime to receive a third-party assessment that will allow them to seek treatment and avoid the judicial process entirely.
S.295 is designed to provide an alternative to traditional responses to drug offenses, in keeping with Shumlin's call during this year's State of the State address to treat addiction as a public health problem, rather than a criminal justice problem.
It provides risk assessment tools to courts and prosecutors and calls for state's attorneys to offer pre-trial screening and treatment programs to defendants before arraignment, the time when they're considered most likely to deal with their addiction issues.
The legislation includes $760,000 to hire personnel to monitor offenders' compliance with the program.
S.295 also toughens existing state drug laws, with stronger penalties for those charged with trafficking more than 1 gram of heroin into the state for the purpose of selling it.