INITIATIVE WISELY OFFERS TREATMENT, NOT PRISON

IF Proposition 36 is approved by voters in November, first-or second-time
non-violent drug offenders will get mandatory, court-supervised treatment
instead of jail.

California prisons are overcrowded. To make sure that violent criminals are
kept behind bars, we need a better approach to dealing with non-violent
drug users.

Proposition 36 provides treatment to people convicted of simple drug
possession. If they've committed any other crime along with drug
possession, they will not be eligible for treatment. If they are convicted
of selling drugs, or possessing any quantity for sale, they will not be
eligible. If they've committed any previous violent crimes, they will not
be eligible for the treatment program, unless they've served their time and
been crime-free for at least five years.

Treatment under Proposition 36 is not a free ride. The rules are strict. If
an offender commits another crime, or fails to show up, or tests positive
for drug use, he or she can be jailed for one to three years.

Besides drug treatment, judges can also order job training, literacy
training and family counseling. The idea is to turn substance abusers into
productive citizens, so they start paying taxes and stop committing crimes
to support their habits.

This is smart drug policy. A California governmental study showed that
taxpayers save $7 for every $1 invested in drug treatment. The state's
impartial Legislative Analyst says Proposition 36 can save California
hundreds of millions of dollars a year, even after spending $120 million
annually on treatment programs. In 1996, voters in Arizona passed a similar
initiative. They saved millions of dollars in the first two years and had a
61 percent success rate treating drug users. More recently, New York state
decided to implement a similar statewide program.

Proposition 36 is supported by prominent Democrats and Republicans and by
the California Society of Addiction Medicine. It is opposed by law
enforcement groups that want to spend even more money on the same failed
drug policies taxpayers have funded for the past 25 years.

Because Proposition 36 is favored by a large majority of California voters,
our opponents do not always tell the truth when they argue against it. For
example, they claim Proposition 36 ``decriminalizes'' drugs. Not true.
Possession of illegal drugs remains a felony, but for the first two
convictions, the punishment is treatment, not prison.

Our opponents also claim that Proposition 36 hurts drug courts. Not true.
California's drug courts will continue to function, but it must be
recognized that these courts currently serve only 2 percent to 7 percent of
drug offenders. Ventura County, with a population of 750,000, only
graduated 18 people from its drug court in all of 1999. That same year in
San Diego County, the four drug courts there served only 198 people.

Opponents claim offenders in treatment won't be tested for drugs. Not true.
The language in Proposition 36 requires that all new money appropriated by
the initiative be spent exclusively for treatment, but money already in the
system can be used for drug testing. Also, judges can order testing and
require offenders to pay for it, and for their treatment.

Opponents claim treatment programs will be ``fly-by-night'' operations. Not
true. Proposition 36 requires all programs to be licensed and certified by
the state, and it empowers county governments to spend the new treatment
money as they deem appropriate.

Opponents argue that Proposition 36 requires that certain drug users be
kept on the job, including airline pilots and bus drivers. Ridiculous.
Nothing in Proposition 36 prevents anyone from being fired for a drug
offense, or from being fired for failing a drug test.

The truth is that Proposition 36 affects only simple drug possession. If it
passes, 37,000 non-violent offenders who currently go to jail for drug
possession every year will get treatment instead. It makes no sense for us
to spend $24,000 per year to keep such people in prison when the highest
quality treatment only costs about $5,000 per year.

Treatment won't help everyone, but it can break the cycle of drug abuse for
the majority of people who receive it, and that will reduce crime and save
even more money in the long run. Proposition 36 is not a radical proposal.
It gives drug users two chances at treatment. If they fail, or break the
rules, they go to jail.

This plan is a proven success in Arizona. Let's not lose the opportunity to
use it here in California.

Dave Fratello is campaign manager for the California Campaign for New Drug
Policies, the sponsor of Proposition 36.