IT'S THE LAW, SO LET'S MAKE PROP. 36 WORK

Californians voted overwhelmingly last fall to send nonviolent drug users
to treatment instead of jail, beginning July 1, whether the state is ready
or not. As recent reports on Proposition 36 have pointed out, voters may
have asked too much, too soon.

California enters the Proposition 36 era with an inadequate network of drug
treatment providers and a flimsy system for regulating them. The initiative
will divert 3,000 more drug offenders a month into a drug treatment system
that already has 5,000 users a month on waiting lists.

Counselors aren't required to be licensed and treatment programs aren't
previously required to be certified. Even residential treatment programs,
which the state licenses, are assessed only for health or safety, and not
whether they are effective in helping their patients wean themselves off drugs.

In short, Proposition 36 is likely headed for a rocky shakedown cruise.
Inevitably, there will be some foul-ups, scandals and a lot of wasted
money. But elected officials have a duty to make it work.

Like many initiatives, Proposition 36 signaled voters' desire for a policy
shift without providing all the tools to make it happen. Now policy-makers
must fill in behind.

They need to license counselors and programs. They need to put in
performance standards for treatment programs as a way to be sure that those
receiving the extra $600 million the initiative puts into the system are
delivering services, not just collecting a check. They need to supply money
for drug testing, so that drug users and programs alike can be held
accountable.

And while they do, citizens will need to be patient. It will take a lot of
attention and time to make California's rickety drug treatment system
effective, efficient and accountable.