TAKING THE INITIATIVE

Proposition 36 Court Is a Whole Different Ball Game

In Butte County, there's Drug Court and then there's "Prop. 36 Court."
Although both programs are there to get people off drugs, they are not
the same thing. While participants in Drug Court are addicted felons
trying to stay out of prison, Prop. 36 participants are first- and
second-time, nonviolent drug offenders, most of whom were arrested for
simple possession.

Proposition 36 was a reform initiative backed by the Drug Policy
Alliance that mandated treatment instead of jail time for many drug
offenders. Passed by voters in 2000, the measure promised to save
taxpayers billions in incarceration costs over the years and sounded
to many voters like it would force counties to set up drug courts.
Butte County based its Prop. 36 courts on the existing Drug Court program.

But some Drug Court professionals and treatment providers say the
initiative is flawed. For one thing, they say, it doesn't provide
enough leeway for judges to sanction court participants who refuse to
follow the program. While participants in Drug Court are often sent
directly to jail if they fail a drug test, judges in Prop. 36 Court
are barred from taking such action until defendants prove beyond a
doubt that they are not interested in giving up their vice. Drug Court
participants live in constant fear that if they mess up they will end
up in prison. Proposition 36 participants have less to fear, because
most of them are facing lighter charges.

Judge Stevens said the Prop. 36 courts are also in danger of being
overwhelmed by the sheer number of defendants they are taking on,
which doesn't allow them to monitor the defendants as closely as is
needed.

Studies testing the effectiveness of Prop. 36 are underway but likely
won't be out for at least another year.