DRUG OFFENDER PROPOSITION DRAWS IRE, PRAISE

There are strong opinions on both sides for and against Proposition
5, the prison reform and drug treatment initiative on Tuesday's ballot.

Supporters say the Nonviolent Offenders Rehabilitation Act will
reduce current prison overcrowding by removing thousands of drug
users from the penal system, cutting parole for those who seek
treatment from three years to as little as six months, while
conversely increasing parole time for people convicted of violent or
sex crimes.

Proposition 5 would provide about $460 million a year -- nearly
triple the current amount -- to divert a wider variety of
drug-related offenders into treatment, getting to the root of their
addiction instead of incarcerating them, say advocates.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office estimates the measure
could wind up costing taxpayers $1 billion a year, but potentially
save another $2.5 billion in related prison construction costs by
removing up to 18,000 inmates from the state's penitentiaries.

Opponents contend Proposition 5 is a deceptive and costly "social
experiment," which is not aimed only at nonviolent drug users.

They assert the measure will allow defendants charged with a wide
range of crimes including arson, identity theft, drunken driving,
commercial burglary and child abuse to escape punishment by claiming
their drug addiction caused them to commit crime.

They also argue the "one-size fits all" regimen envisioned under
Proposition 5 lacks the flexibility and accountability of the present
drug court treatment programs it would replace.

In Butte County, three past, current and future drug treatment court
judges oppose Proposition 5, as does Chico Police Chief Bruce Hagerty
and Sheriff Perry Reniff.

Attorney General Jerry Brown, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the
California Department of Public Health have also publicly opposed the measure.

Last week the Butte County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution
opposing Proposition 5, following an address by District Attorney
Mike Ramsey, who has historically been a strong advocate of drug
treatment courts.

Among others, Proposition 5 is endorsed by the League of Women
Voters, the California Federation of Teachers, a state nursing
organization and drug rehabilitation centers.

Among its advocates locally is Tommy Higgins, a recovered drug addict
and ex-con, who founded Skyway House, Butte County's first and
largest nonprofit rehab clinics for substance abusers.

While agreeing Proposition 5 is "imperfect," Higgins and attorney
Steven Trenholme, who represents indigent criminal suspects in Butte
County's drug treatment courts, say it would provide a much-needed
steady source of revenue to combat long-standing addictions that are
destroying families and driving up crime.

The complex initiative was drafted by the Drug Policy Alliance, the
same group that wrote Proposition 36, the 2000 voter-approved
initiative that provided treatment3 instead of incarceration for
non-violent drug offenders.

Proposition 5 would replace Proposition 36 and the companion Drug
Court with a three-tiered "track" system of treatment for a much
larger number of drug-related offenders.

It would also make possession of less than 28.5 grams of marijuana an
infraction, much like a parking ticket. Small amounts of pot now is a
misdemeanor that carries as much as $380 in fines and related fees
and jail terms for repeat offenses.

If passed by the voters, Proposition 5 would mandate drug rehab
programs in prison, except for those serving life terms, and reduce
sentences for inmates convicted of drug-related or property crimes
who show progress or complete such programs.

Parole for the same types of offenses would be cut from three years
to six months and in most cases the individual couldn't be returned
to prison for minor or technical violations of parole under Proposition 5

Helen Harberts, the local drug treatment court prosecutor, contends
that Proposition 5 is the latest effort by "three out-of-state
millionaires" whose stated goal is to "medicalize" all drug crimes in the U.S.

Rather than treating drug addiction, Proposition 5 could actually
perpetuate it by allowing some offenders not only to continue abusing
drugs with impunity while going through court-ordered treatment, but
selling it to the very people the measure is intended to help, argues Ramsey.

The initiative has been derisively called by some critics "the drug
dealer's bill of rights."

Higgins points out Proposition 36 was also condemned initially, but
that "we made it work in Butte County."

While Proposition 36 statewide has experienced a 77 percent failure
rate, more than half of those who go through the program in Butte
County graduate.

Harberts says that is because Butte's Proposition 36 court operates
on the drug-court model, requiring "voluntary" jail terms for non-compliance.

By contrast, Harberts points out Proposition 5 would mandate judges
to accept into treatment anyone with up to five criminal arrests in
the past 30 months, while permitting repeated drug relapses or other
violations of court orders before any jail sanctions could be imposed.

Judge Stephen Benson, who currently presides of the Butte County Drug
and Proposition 36 courts, agrees Proposition 5 would "take away a
lot of the tools we now use in recovery," and remove judge's
discretion as to whom to exclude from treatment.