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FULL TEXT OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA THAT:
Article I, Section 26, Florida Constitution, is hereby created to read as follows:
Right to Treatment and Rehabilitation
- (a) Any individual charged with or convicted of illegally possessing or purchasing a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia may elect to receive appropriate treatment as described in subsection (c), instead of being sentenced or incarcerated, which shall be a matter of right for the first and second offense after enactment of this section and at the discretion of the court for subsequent offenses. If more than one qualifying offense under this section occurs during a single criminal episode, it shall be considered a single offense. For purposes of this section, an individual who elects to receive appropriate treatment prior to conviction shall be deemed to have waived the right to a speedy trial.
- (b) This section shall not apply to any individual who in connection with the same criminal episode as the drug offense described in (a)is also charged with or convicted of: any felony;any misdemeanor involving theft, violence or the threat of violence;trafficking, sale, manufacture, or delivery of a controlled substance; purchase or possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia; or operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. This section also shall not apply to any individual who, within five years before committing the drug offense described in (a), has been convicted of, or in prison for, one of the serious or violent crimes described in Section 775.084(1)(c)1.a.-r., Florida Statutes (2000), or such other violent crimes as may be provided by law.
- (c) For purposes of this section, "appropriate treatment" means a state--approved drug treatment and/or rehabilitation treatment program, or set of programs, designed to reduce or eliminate substance abuse or drug dependency and to increase employability. Such program or programs shall include, as deemed appropriate, access to vocational training, literacy training, family counseling, mental health services, or similar support services. The determination of the type and duration of the appropriate treatment program or programs that an individual shall receive, and methods of monitoring the individual's progress while in treatment, shall be made by a qualified professional as defined in Section 397.311(25), Florida Statutes (2000).
- (d) An individual receiving appropriate treatment under this section may be transferred to a different program due to violations of program rules or unsuitability to the form of treatment initially prescribed. An individual may be removed from appropriate treatment if, after multiple programs and violations, and upon an independent evaluation by a qualified professional as defined in Section 397.311(25), Florida Statutes (2000), the individual is found by the court to be unamenable to treatment and rehabilitation. Any such individual removed from appropriate treatment who has been convicted of the drug offense described in (a) may be sentenced for the offense. Prosecution may be recommenced against any individual removed from appropriate treatment who has not yet been convicted, and a conviction resulting from such prosecution may result in a criminal sentence without regard to this section.
- (e) Appropriate treatment shall be terminated upon an individuals' successful completion of the prescribed course of appropriate treatment, or upon an independent evaluation and finding by a qualified professional as defined in Section 397.311(25), Florida Statutes (2000), that an individual's appropriate treatment has been successful, or eighteen months after the date the individual elected to receive appropriate treatment, whichever occurs first. Upon termination of appropriate treatment, the individual may not be prosecuted, sentenced, or placed under continued court supervision for the offense which led to the appropriate treatment.
- (f) This section shall become effective on July 1 of the year following passage by the voters, and shall apply prospectively only to qualifying drug offenses occurring on or after that date.
- (g) The Legislature shall enact such laws as necessary to implement this section.
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