DRUG COURT SUPPORTERS QUESTION PROPOSITION 36'S EFFECTS

Judges Concerned That Without Threat Of Jail Time, There's No Teeth To Laws

Two Placer County judges say the passage of Proposition 36 jeopardizes the
future of the county's drug court.

The newly passed measure orders treatment for first- and second-time drug
offenses rather than jail. The state analyst predicts a $200 million annual
savings statewide from cuts in jailing would-be offenders.

But Placer County Superior Court Judge Joe O'Flaherty called Prop. 36 a
"very bad idea."

It undermines drug laws, civic responsibility and frees drug users who
reoffend, he said. Drug treatment programs, while helpful, carry no
punitive consequences, he added.

"Prop. 36 effectively destroys the drug courts. The drug court concept is a
rare success in the drug epidemic," he wrote in a letter published in the
Auburn Journal's website. "Drug courts use a push-pull, carrot-and-stick
approach in dealing with addiction," he said of court-sanctioned treatment
and support. Prop. 36 does away with the "stick" that threatens jail time
for an addict's failure.

"The addicts in drug court know there will be punishment," O'Flaherty said.
"It just won't be as severe as with a full-blown prosecution."

Placer County Drug Court Commissioner Colleen Nichols doubts drug treatment
alone, without the risk of a jail sentence, would help most addicts.

Program workers track the progress of drug court defendants, who face
possible jail time for washing out of treatment and failing two drug tests.
Nichols said a statewide survey reveals that about 80 percent of drug users
favor a combination of treatment and jail.

"Most people don't get sober on their own. People have to want to get
clean," Nichols said. "There's no accountability for drug addicts" under
Prop. 36.

"It takes away our ability to apply sanctions," she said. "Most (substance
abusers) can do 15 days in jail with their eyes closed."

Right now, three similar drug court programs in Placer County comprise
about 455 participants, including 400 adults and 30 juveniles, said program
coordinator Maureen Hernandez. Only about 7 percent of the graduates get
rearrested, she noted.

The program's recidivism rate ranks better than similar programs in many
other counties, Nichols said.

She also worried that addicts under Prop. 36 could overburden the supply of
qualified treatment centers, which she estimated at a half-dozen in Placer
County. But the measure does provide seed money for eventually expanding
drug treatment in California counties, which must apply for help, said Jim
Gonzalez, Prop. 36's deputy campaign manager.

"It creates more treatment slots and has more money for probation and
supervision," he said. He described a ramp-up feature that would provide
$60 million over six months during the proposition's first phase for
allowing qualified counties to expand treatment.

The proposition provides $120 million a year for five years, with some
money earmarked for boosting treatment, he said.