OBEYING PROP. 36

State Must Move Fast On Drug Treatment

California has plunged into a massive new system of drug treatment under
Proposition 36, in which as many as 36,000 drug criminals will be sent to
treatment centers instead of jail.

Arguments for this initiative were largely theoretical; now it must be put
into practice -- by next July. That means the Legislature, courts and
probation departments throughout California must act quickly. To make
Proposition 36 work, we need:

Standards and accountability for treatment programs. The Legislature should
pass laws for licensing programs that receive state money, based on
guidelines already developed by treatment professionals and experts.

Drug testing funding. Proposition 36 bans any of its $120 million a year
from being spent on testing. Drug treatment without testing is like
hypertension treatment without blood-pressure testing. The Legislature must
authorize spending for testing.

A director for the state department of alcohol and drug programs to help
administer Proposition 36. Gov. Gray Davis has left this critical slot vacant.

Under Proposition 36, first-and second-time drug offenders must be given
treatment. Jail is only an option after at least two relapses. Criminal
courts and probation departments must decide how they'll enforce that
provision.

And they'll need funding from the state to do it. Right now, probation
officers rarely see their probationers and don't know whether they are
clean or not. Much closer supervision of criminal drug addicts is key for
Proposition 36 system to work.

Drug courts, in particular, must figure out how they're going to continue
their successful work. Currently, drug court judges sentence drug addicts
who relapse to short jail terms, three to five days, in order to get their
minds focused on the importance of recovery. It works very well. However,
under Proposition 36, adult drug court judges will no longer be able to
send first-or second-time offenders to jail for any reason or any length of
time. Instead, when drug court clients relapse, judges can only send them
to stricter treatment.

Statewide, drug court judges must use some of the money from Proposition 36
to implement tougher treatment regimens for addicts who relapse. While a
first-time offender might be sent to outpatient treatment, a second-time
offender could be sent to long-term residential treatment, or jail for
further relapse.

The drug treatment funding contained in Proposition 36 can significantly
benefit California. Now, the legislative and judicial systems must quickly
figure out how to make necessary changes to continue coercing criminal
addicts into sobriety.