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Proposition 36 is being sponsored
by the California Campaign for New Drug Policies. The purpose of this
initiative is to enhance public safety by reducing drug-related crime and preserving
jail and prison space for violent offenders. The initiative will provide
community-based substance abuse treatment programs for non-violent
defendants, probationers, and parolees charged with simple drug possession or drug
use offenses. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, this initiative will
result in a net savings of approximately $1.5
billion for the counties and state combined over the next five years.
Specifically, this Act will be implemented in the following manner:
People convicted of a non-violent drug possession offense will receive
probation and court-supervised treatment services designed specifically for
each individual and community. Parolees with no serious or violent prior
felonies may also be diverted into this treatment system if they violate a
drug-related condition of parole, rather than facing re-incarceration;
People placed into a treatment program as a condition of probation or
parole are subject to certain rules of behavior; if they violate these rules, the form
of treatment and supervision may be intensified or, in some cases, probation
or parole may be revoked. The person will then be subject to current law,
including possible incarceration;
The initiative appropriates an additional $120,000,000 annually to a
newly created Substance Abuse Treatment Trust Fund for five and a half
years, beginning January 1, 2001. This appropriation is to be in addition to
existing drug treatment funding, to cover the costs of expanding treatment,
probation, and parole services for thousands of newly eligible non-violent drug offenders;
Research will refine the implementation of the measure the initiative
requires annual reports and a separate long-term impact study; and
Once treatment has been successfully completed, defendants may petition
the court to dismiss the drug-related conviction.
Proposition 36 will benefit
many addicted offenders, while providing the needed funds to provide effective
drug treatment. A complete text of the initiative is available at our
website, http://www.drugreform.org.
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Every additional dollar invested
in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.46 in societal costs.
Drug Policy Research Center, RAND, 1994
The average cost to the taxpayers of California
per in-mate, per year is $23,406.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, Bureau of
Justice Statistics, 1997
The average cost of a full treatment program per client
is $4,300.
National Treatment Evaluation Study, Center for
Substance Abuse and Treatment, 1997
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