The future direction of California's war on drugs will be in voters' hands
in November.

Voters are expected to decide whether to approve Proposition 36, a measure
that would require drug treatment rather than jail sentences for first- and
second-time non-violent drug offenders.

The measure would apply to those convicted only of drug possession.
Offenders with long criminal histories or convicted of selling drugs would
be ineligible for treatment.

If approved by voters Nov. 7, the effects of Prop. 36 are expected to be
dramatic. Up to 37,000 people could be diverted from jails and state prison
to treatment centers.

Supporters of the proposition say such a change is desperately needed. Drug
users are streaming into and out of prisons and local jails like a
revolving door, according to Dave Fratello, spokesman for the California
Campaign for New Drug Policies, a group that supports Proposition 36.

"For all the talk about focusing on drug education and treatment, we
haven't really done that much for these people," Fratello said. "We're not
reaching people the first time we have a crack at them."

Prop. 36 is modeled after an Arizona initiative that was approved by voters
there in 1996 by a 2-1 margin. Since it has gone into effect, the Arizona
law has saved the state millions of dollars each year, Fratello said.

The potential for savings is even higher in California, according to state
officials.

Projections by the state Legislative Analyst's Office, which reviews every
proposition on the ballot, show that the measure could free up as many as
11,000 beds in state prisons. Those empty beds would save the state up to
$250 million annually and eliminate the need for $450 million to $550
million in new prisons, the Legislative Analyst's Office said.

On a local level, the proposition would free up even more room, annually
eliminating 12,000 inmates. That would save counties $40 million a year,
according to the LAO report.

Despite the possible savings, Prop. 36 has not enjoyed much support from
law enforcement officials. Locally, almost every law enforcement agency in
Kern County has come out against the proposition in recent weeks, arguing
that it would tie the hands of prosecutors and judges when dealing with
drug offenders.

District Attorney Ed Jagels, Sheriff Carl Sparks, Bakersfield Police Chief
Eric Matlock and other local law enforcement and public officials will
gather for a news conference to denounce the initiative as a significant
threat to the public's safety. The event will take place at 10 a.m. today
at BPD headquarters on Truxtun Avenue.

"This is a backdoor legalization of drugs," Kern County District Attorney
Ed Jagels said. "They can't write an initiative that says drugs will be
legal,' so they are doing this."

If approved, he warned that the measure would make it "virtually
impossible" to lock up first- and second-time offenders who fail a drug
test or don't go to treatment. And without that threat of jail, treatment
programs are not likely to succeed, said Kern County Superior Court Judge
Frank Hoover, who, until recently, presided over local drug cases.

"You've got to have something to shock them, otherwise you won't get their
attention," he said.

Local drug and alcohol resistance teacher Bill Crowles Sr. agrees.

Crowles, who teaches classes each day at Lerdo Jail, says even his
incarcerated students scoffed when told that Prop. 36 would allow them to
violate their probation up to three times before being sent to jail.

"I asked them all if they would clean up the first time if they had three
chances. They all said no," Crowles said. "This is a powerful disease we're
fighting. You've got to have some pain to fight it and jail provides that
pain."

Supporters of the proposition admit the law would make it difficult to
incarcerate drug users who make a few mistakes , but for good reason.

"The idea is to give them a chance to get cleaned up before they are sent
to jail," Fratello said. "It is very difficult to clean up the first time.

But if they continue to break the terms of their probation, then it gets
easier and easier to send them to jail."