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The Montana law, which is to take effect Oct. 1, does not mandate injections, but allows judges to impose them if an offender commits rape or incest for a second time, or if a first offense is particularly heinous.The injections would begin a week before the offender is to be released from prison and would continue until the Montana Department of Corrections deems them no longer necessary which could mean for life. Once the injections stop, the sex drive returns to previous levels.Its like a nicotine patch, said state Rep. Deb Kottel, Democrat of Great Falls, who sponsored one of two bills on the issue that passed. It takes the edge off and allows people to quit.Officials estimate that the injections will cost $21 a day, while incarceration costs $44 a day.Although the new law has broad support and the treatment is widely used in Europe, some people have questioned the use of such methods. Its a simplistic, feelgood piece of legislation that doesnt get at the root of the problem, said Scott Crichton, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana.They think a sex offense is all about sex. But its about power and control and patterns of thought.The law that emerged was a compromise to a proposal that would have mandated surgical castration for some sex offenders. The two bills passed earlier this year by wide margins but were vetoed by Gov. Marc Racicot, who said he was concerned about the cost. Legislators overrode the veto April 21 during the last week of the session.

 

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