The discussion provides an overview of the history and role of Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC), which was initiated in 1972 under the Federal Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act. It also explains the nature of addiction, how treatment works, drug treatment techniques, a study of hard-core cocaine and heroin users in Cook County (Ill.), and data on nonviolent drug offenders as the fastest- growing inmate population. Further sections discuss rates of drug use among criminal offenders and among arrestees and inmates in Illinois, drug abuse and AIDS, drug abuse and domestic assault, and the relationship between drug abuse and juvenile delinquency. Other sections focus on the impact of treatment on criminal and other dangerous behaviors, the effectiveness of multilayered treatment in reducing drug use and recidivism, a jail-based treatment program in Illinois, a day reporting program for pretrial defendants in Chicago, the effectiveness of TASC programs, the advantages of treatment over supply reduction in terms of cost-effectiveness, and support among correctional personnel for inmate drug treatment. Figures and footnotes