Topeka ? Legislation that would keep some drug offenders out of prison but force them to get treatment cleared the Senate on a 26-14 vote Thursday and headed to the House.

The measure would require judges to place nonviolent offenders convicted of nothing more than drug possession into community treatment programs rather than prison. The state would cover the cost of treatment, which officials have estimated could be as much as $9.2 million in the next fiscal year.

Supporters said the measure would create space in Kansas prisons for violent criminals and delay the need for more prisons.