ANAHEIM TOUGH ON PROP. 36 CASES

City Attorneys Pursue Appeals To Jail Drug Offenders Caught With Paraphernalia.

The Anaheim City Attorney's Office is taking a tougher stance on
Proposition 36 cases than most jurisdictions, saying that misdemeanor
offenders caught with paraphernalia as well as drugs do not qualify for
drug treatment under the initiative.

The city's tough interpretation is spurring complaints from supporters of
the initiative, which took effect July 1. They say the clear intent of the
law is to put nonviolent drug offenders in rehab, not behind bars.

But Anaheim city attorneys say that Prop. 36 - approved by voters in
November - is silent on drug gear, leaving them no choice but to appeal
seven cases where judges refused to jail drug users caught with pipes or
syringes.

"We feel it is neither within the letter or spirit of Proposition 36 to
allow users of drugs who also are in possession of paraphernalia to be
diverted to rehabilitation," City Attorney Jack White said Sunday.

Anaheim city attorneys try misdemeanor drug cases, while the Orange County
District Attorney's office handles the felony drug cases, White said.

Anaheim's stand frustrates Dr. Peter Banys, the president of the California
Society of Addiction Medicine and co- author of ballot arguments for Prop. 36.

"The intention was to basically change the prevailing paradigm for how we
deal with drugs," said Banys, a San Francisco physician. "Drug abuse goes
along with paraphernalia like bread and butter."

White said a higher court decision would clarify the law. "This will be
guidance hopefully not only for Anaheim but other prosecuting agencies
throughout Orange County and California," he said.