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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Crack-addicted Felicia Anderson was pregnant with her third child when an ultrasound changed the direction of her life. "You could hear that baby's heartbeat strong and steady. Really, that's her personality today, a strong, vibrant little girl. And at that time, laying there, tears starting rolling down my face," Anderson, 44, recalled. In that moment, Anderson vowed to stay off drugs, something she'd been unable to do in more than a decade addicted to crack cocaine, even when she was pregnant with her first two children. Anderson didn't think she could do it alone, so, like...

Character actor Tom Sizemore will have to go to drug treatment, but he will not have to spend any further time in jail under the terms of a plea agreement he made Wednesday on drug charges. Sizemore and Jason Salcido, the man he was with when he was arrested in Bakersfield in May, pleaded no contest to a charge of transporting drugs for personal use. Sizemore will be placed in Proposition 36, a drug therapy program. But if he fails to stay off drugs he could face four years in prison. His attorney, H.A. Sala, said Sizemore will be released...

State leaders this week are considering a proposal to get control of California's bulging prison population. Officials with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget, to be released Tuesday, will outline plans to shift hundreds and possibly thousands of female inmates out of prison cells and into community-based drug treatment centers. Though releasing few details, officials said the plans will significantly impact the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, which would become a prison for men instead of housing men and women as it does now. Of the Norco prison's 775 female inmates, 500 would be transferred to...

Betting that larger investment in drug treatment, after-school activities and other programs can reduce incarceration, foster care and remedial education, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is expected to sign an agreement today with business and philanthropic leaders designed to shift millions in state spending in the coming years. The central idea of the More for Maryland program, the first phase of which is scheduled to be agreed to today, is that spending on prevention programs with proven track records not only improves the lives of children but also saves money. In what advocates say could be a national model, the...

WASHINGTON - President Bush has long preached of the power of prayer to aid drug addicts. Now he's putting dollars behind the rhetoric, asking Congress for $600 million for a new, three-year drug treatment program that would welcome the participation of religious groups. The proposal sparked conflict even before Bush touted it before Congress. Opponents fear government will pay for programs that replace professional counselors with prayer and Bible study. "The president wants to fund untested, unproven programs that seek to pray away addiction," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and...

<p>The Central Florida program that Noelle Bush sought for drug treatment is well-known to Gov. Jeb Bush and his family.</p> <p>Bush and his wife, Columba, began visiting the Center for Drug-Free Living in Orlando before he took office, according to counselors. They have had an ongoing interest in drug-prevention programs statewide.</p> <p>"They've worked very closely with us," center spokeswoman Joan Ballard said. "Columba has been a big advocate for prevention."</p> <p>Founded in 1971, the center has grown into a $30 million-a-year collection of residential- and outpatient-treatment facilities that treated 14,655 people last year in Orange, Osceola and Brevard counties.</p>

I did quite a bit of reading (research, if you will) in preparation for this (legalization of medical marijuana) confrontation with (Rep. Bob) Barr. Learned much. One thing stands out … the cost of fighting drugs through treatment vs. through law. The Rand Corporation conducted a study on the costs associated with various approaches to the drug problem. The question the study addressed was “How much would it cost to reduce cocaine usage in the United States by just one percent over a period of 15 years” One percent over 15 years. That’s not much …. And just what would...