Megan Cassidy

The Republic | azcentral.com

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office stands to lose millions in drug-diversion program revenue over the next few years should recreational marijuana become legal through Proposition 205.

The funds constitute a small percentage of the county attorney's nearly $100 million annual budget. But over the past 10 years, the office has collected nearly $15 million by referring clients to TASC, a private drug-treatment contractor hired to rehabilitate marijuana and other drug offenders.

If the ballot measure passes, certain marijuana prosecutions would become history, cutting into a drug-diversion program for marijuana offenders that has served almost 15,000 defendants over the past six years.

Defendants facing drug charges must pay the program’s fees, and in exchange they sidestep felony convictions if they successfully complete the program. TASC, in turn, reimburses the County Attorney’s Office up to $650 per marijuana client.

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Proponents for Prop. 205 say the payouts illustrate a financial motivation behind County Attorney Bill Montgomery's arguments against legal marijuana.

Montgomery is a staunch critic of recreational and medical marijuana, which voters approved in 2010. He has campaigned against the current ballot measure at community and political events.

“It’s disgusting,” said J.P. Holyoak, chair of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. “The idea that the county attorney, his office has a financial incentive to keep prohibition in place … it may not be illegal, but it is absolutely corrupt.”

Montgomery responded Wednesday, "Allegations of conflict of interest just sound like a desperate campaign coming down to a defeat.”

Prop. 205 would legalize marijuana sales, use and growth for adults 21 and older. Adults would be allowed to carry, purchase and give away up to 1 ounce of marijuana.

The battle over the ballot measure appears close and contentious. A recent Arizona Republic poll found half of registered voters would support the measure, and both the pro- and anti- campaigns are blitzing the airways with ads for and against the measure.

If it passes, adults could begin legally possessing marijuana as soon as the election results are certified. Adults could start buying marijuana on March 1, 2018.

County attorney: I'm not in this for the fees

Montgomery, who is also on the Nov. 8 ballot running for re-election, has built his platform on tough-on-crime and anti-drug policies since taking office in 2010.

His biweekly news conferences frequently warn of addiction risks of marijuana, and recent debates have featured him sparring with Holyoak over the details of Prop. 205, which would tax and regulate marijuana.

Revenue from the taxes would fund a new state department to regulate the drug, and Montgomery and Holyoak have debated over the amount of money the measure would generate for schools, the potential for increased drugged driving, and whether legalizing cannabis would lead to higher rates of substance abuse among youth.

Montgomery frequently mentions the drug-intervention program in his anti-Prop. 205 messaging. He holds it up as a fair alternative to a felony conviction for lower-level offenders.

A County Attorney's Office representative said Montgomery was not available this week for an interview with The Arizona Republic about the TASC program. But at his regular news conference Wednesday, he said his political activism did not conflict with his role as county prosecutor.

"I’d be happy if we received zero dollars, because it would mean nobody needed to go into treatment in the first place," he said.

Montgomery said the fees for TASC were set on a sliding scale, and there was a higher cost for treatment programs for defendants facing charges involving other drugs.

The funds collected are earmarked for drug education and programs to end substance abuse, according to the County Attorney's Office.

"I’m not in this in order to try to drive up any monies that people would have to pay for fines and fees," Montgomery said.

Diego Rodriguez, Montgomery's Democratic challenger in the election, said the prosecutor should be concerned about optics of the county attorney's relationship with TASC.

"I absolutely believe that a county attorney’s office should be very aware of even the appearance of impropriety," he said. "I don’t believe the office should be profiting from the administration of justice.”

Diversion-program fees can top $1,000

First- and second-time drug offenders are eligible for TASC. After an arrest, prosecutors in the County Attorney’s Office can refer a defendant for the diversion program and essentially put a hold on filing charges. If the program is completed, the case is either dropped with no charges filed or the pending charges are dismissed.

The defendant facing marijuana charges is responsible for paying the program fees, which can amount to more than $1,000, according to information obtained by The Republic from TASC. Of this, $150 is marked for intake, another $150 is for program costs, and $650 is then returned to the County Attorney’s Office. Defendants can pay lower fees, based on their income.

Random drug tests required by the program cost $14 apiece, and defendants could be responsible for a $50 fee to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for fingerprints and photographs.

Marrya Briggs, TASC chief operating officer, said there are no readily available reports that show how much reimbursement comes from marijuana clients, but she provided figures that confirmed more than three-quarters of TASC's clients since 2011 were referred because of marijuana charges.

Over the past six years, 77 percent of TASC's clients entered the program for marijuana charges, or 14,891 of 19,444 total clients since 2011, according to TASC.

County Attorney's Office records, provided to the newspaper this month under the state's public-records law, show the office received an average of $1.6 million annually from TASC reimbursements from 2010 to 2016.

The office receives $1,200 per defendant arrested on dangerous-drug charges and $1,500 per defendant placed in the TASC program for narcotics, according to a county attorney's spokeswoman.

The County Attorney's Office operates on a $99 million budget and has nearly 1,000 employees.

Montgomery said the funds cover the program's administrative and overhead costs within the office, and that the program fees are cheaper than what individuals would pay if they went through a full prosecution in the criminal-justice system.

"So if my goal is to really try and collect as much money as possible, we wouldn’t offer TASC at all," he said. "Instead we would require people to pay the fines and fees that are statutorily required."

A later statement from the County Attorney's Office clarified that the money is placed in a special revenue fund and it is used to fund community outreach efforts on substance abuse and to pay salaries for employees involved in education and/or reviewing cases for diversion.

Montgomery declined to respond to questions on why the fees were directed to the County Attorney's Office rather than the county's general budget.

TASC has also opposed Prop. 205, according to the company's website.

Briggs acknowledged that TASC would take a financial hit if Prop. 205 was passed by voters but said the company’s portfolio was broader than just the diversion program.

“We are not going to go away by any means,” she said. “We are going to be sad if this passes, just because of the impact it’s going to have on the community and youth.”

Arizona Republic reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez contributed to this article.