ADDICTION DEBATE

Three tries at court-ordered treatment after a string of drug-related
misdemeanors weren't enough of a wake-up call for John Delino.

What followed, however, did the trick: a felony drug possession
charge, nine months in county jail and a year of inpatient rehab.

"All I can say is it took what it took," said Delino, 32, who has
been drug-free now four years and is set to graduate from Harbor
College in a few months.

He got sober at the Beacon House in San Pedro on his fourth stint
under Proposition 36, a state measure passed in 2001 that led to a
philosophical change in the way addicts convicted of crimes are
punished. Instead of prison or jail, nonviolent offenders could go to
rehab for help.

Money for the measure has dwindled; Proposition 36 expired last year,
with funding now left to the whim of the state Legislature and
governor, who are grappling with a historic budget deficit. Backers
are proposing a new measure that would more than triple funding and
broaden the definition of who can qualify.

On Nov. 4, voters will decide on Proposition 5, known as the
Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act of 2008, which would expand
and build upon Proposition 36 with an infusion of $385 million a year
in state funding to pay for adult treatment and $65 million for youth programs.

Proponents point to independent findings that show even with limited
funding, Proposition 36 saved the state about $1.2 billion over the
last six years in incarceration costs. The new measure, they say,
will result in more savings, better treatment, more oversight and
badly needed services for youth.

"We cycle people through the courts, lock them up behind bars, yet we
know their primary problem is addiction," said Margaret
Dooley-Sammuli, deputy California director of the Drug Policy
Alliance Network and a campaign manager for Proposition 5. "We've
built 21 new prisons in the last 20 years, and in the last 20 years,
we've only seen one increase in spending for treatment. It's unconscionable."

Proposition 5 has also sparked strong opposition among judges and law
enforcement officials who say the measure amounts to a
get-out-of-jail-free card. Actor Martin Sheen, whose son Charlie
nearly died of a drug overdose a decade ago, is one of the most
prominent opponents.

On Thursday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley hosted
a press conference with California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who
announced his opposition.

The measure "was written by arrogant elitists who think they know
better than everybody else," Brown said at the news conference.

In a phone interview last week, Cooley said the measure would "result
in the biggest increase in crime that the county has ever seen."

"It essentially gives a free pass to criminals for a variety of
offenses. All a person has to do is claim and assert that they have
some sort of dependency or drug problem, and they're out of the
criminal justice system."

Cooley described Proposition 36 as an "experiment ... that proved to
be a failure," citing low completion rates of those sentenced to treatment.

An analysis by UCLA, which was hired by the state to track the
results of Proposition 36, found that about 30 percent of
participants completed the program. The success rate ebbed slightly
this year as state funding shrank to about $108 million.

In a report last spring, UCLA investigators said the program needs at
least $228 million a year.

"A lot of people aren't getting the treatment they need right now,"
Darren Urada, the principal investigator, said. "You can't engage in
any long-term planning when your funding fluctuates."

Those in the treatment business - who would see a windfall of new
funding if Proposition 5 passes - say a 30 percent completion rate is
actually quite good.

"When you consider the population we're dealing with, that's pretty
high," said Jim Gilmore, director of corporate development and
training for Gardena-based Behavioral Health Services, a countywide
treatment group that handles a significant number of Proposition 36 offenders.

He compared addiction to other chronic health conditions such as
diabetes or hypertension: "Even in the face of a medical crisis, it
takes time for people to change their behavior and lifestyle."

Despite the consequence of criminal sanctions, overcoming addiction
is a huge challenge often compounded by poverty, domestic abuse,
unemployment and lack of education or stable housing, Gilmore said.

"Addiction is a symptom of much bigger problems," he said. "Our goal
is to treat the addiction, but the more difficult task is treating
the cause behind addiction."

Those who have been through the cycle of addiction and recovery
agree. Crimes such as burglary and armed robbery come with the
territory, said Jonathon Millikan, who filtered through the court
system and is now sober.

"Not everyone is going to get it the first time," the South Bay
resident said. "But I don't think treatment is ever a waste of time."

Delino, of the Beacon House, in many ways exemplifies both the
failings and success of Proposition 36.

He entered the program in 2001, its first year. After his arrest on a
drug-related misdemeanor, he was sentenced to a treatment program at
the Salvation Army in Canoga Park.

"The only reason I decided to go for the Prop. 36 was I wanted to get
out of jail," he acknowledges. "I still wanted to do what I wanted to
do. I thought I knew better than everyone else."

He left the program after 60 days, got drunk, wound up back at his
parents' house in Glendale and was arrested a few months later on
another drug charge.

He was released to Proposition 36 a second time, spent another 60
days at a treatment facility in Pasadena, and then left.

"I pretty much got tired of doing what they wanted me to do," he
said. "I packed my bags, walked out and went back to my parents' house."

He was again arrested, sent to another program in Tarzana, but didn't
make it past the paperwork.

Delino said his parents began to grow impatient - particularly after
the city of Glendale issued a restraining order against him - and he
wound up on the streets. His next arrest was for felony possession of
a controlled substance, a charge that earned a year long jail sentence.

After serving nine months, he was released to Proposition 36 a fourth
time, this one at the year long residential program at Beacon House.
Four years later, Delino is sober and on the way to finishing his
associate degree with a 3.9 grade-point average, with hopes of going
into the emergency medical field.

"I never dreamed I would come this far," he said.

Since its inception, Proposition 36 has graduated 84,000 offenders.
It was initially funded at $120 million a year, with some counties
chipping in more to cover additional costs.

The state Legislature later passed a bill that provided another $6
million for drug testing, a key tool left out of Proposition 36, as
well as Proposition 5, opponents say.

That underscores one of the biggest problems with both measures, said
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael A. Tynan - judicial
authorities are stripped of their sanctioning power when offenders
fail to meet requirements.

"I don't want to put anybody in jail, but I want them to worry about
it," he said. "There has to be a stick, as well as a carrot, if this
is going to work."

Tynan founded the first Drug Court in Los Angeles County 12 years
ago. These special courts differ from Proposition 36 in that
offenders go through treatment while they are serving time in prison or jail.

Offenders are typically then released on probation to inpatient or
outpatient facilities, and undergo drug testing with strict
monitoring by judges, probation officers and treatment counselors.
Charlie Sheen successfully completed this type of program.

Judges, however, are given no authority over offenders in the early
phases of Proposition 5. In later phases, after five failed attempts
at treatment and the commission of more serious crimes, offenders
would see much stricter probation, jail or prison time.

For their part, treatment counselors don't disagree that the threat
of punishment, and accountability through drug testing, can serve as
incentives on the road to sobriety.

"It varies from case to case, but these things are useful," said
Michael Ballue, executive director of the National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug Dependence South Bay, which has an outpatient
treatment program for Proposition 36 in Torrance. "They need to be
accountable, and so do we."

The new measure would also reduce the punishment of marijuana
possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction. Tynan said
Proposition 5, backed by billionaire investor and liberal activist
George Soros, is a cloaked attempt to decriminalize drugs.

Dooley-Sammuli disputes that claim, pointing to support from the
California Nurses Association, prominent prison reform activists, the
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice and the California Society of
Addiction Medicine.

"This is a mainstream coalition of people who want to see the state
invest in more treatment and rehabilitation, recognizing that we have
failed to do so," she said, pointing in particular to the dearth of
youth services.

Like many addicts, Delino got started at a young age, taking sips off
his father's beer as early as 12. Over the years, he began to lose
hope as the consequences grew steeper and the addiction grew stronger.

"When I got (to the Beacon House), I knew I was going to either end
up in prison or dead," he said. "Honestly, my self-esteem was so low,
I didn't care."

He figured he'd give it a year - long enough to get off probation and
out of the criminal system. But, in the course of that year, the
things he was learning began to stick.

"That's what it took for me," he said. "I had to be forced in here,
and now I'm grateful for that."