WASHINGTON,DC - Grants totaling more than $58 million to all 50 states and eligible territories to continue providing substance abuse treatment to offenders at state and local correctional facilities, have been awarded by the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs.

In 1999, more than 80 percent of all jail and state prison inmates have said that they previously used drugs, while 60 percent reported having regularly used drugs (with "regularly" defined as at least once a week for at least a month), according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics.

"The link between drugs and crime is clear and unmistakable," said Attorney General John Ashcroft. "As President Bush recently said, when offenders return to society drug-free they are 73 percent less likely to commit more crimes and return to prison and 44 percent less likely to use drugs again. The Justice Department is committed to breaking tbe cycle of drugs and crime."

For more information about this and other OJP programs visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov.