Proposition 36, an initiative approved by 61% of voters in 2000 that permanently changed state law to allow first- and second-time nonviolent, low-level drug possession offenders the option of treatment rather than conventional sentencing to jail or prison.
Policy Goal: Maintain Proposition 36 funding through federal dollars and more diversion. Direct federal stimulus dollars to the Offender Treatment Program to fund treatment and probation for Proposition 36. California has received $225 million in Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funds, the only source of funding for drug treatment in the federal stimulus. At the same time, keeping people convicted of low-level, simple drug possession at county level would reserve state prison and parole for more serious offenders, reduce state costs by at least $500 million a year and protect funding for treatment.
Problems: The governor’s proposal to eliminate Proposition 36 funding threatens to leave first and second-time drug possession offenders without access to treatment to which they are legally entitled. This could result in increased incarceration of people convicted of low-level drug offenses, contradicting the intent of Proposition 36 and reducing chances for successful outcomes of addicted Californians. It promises to raise costs, welcome lawsuits and dismantle the state’s treatment infrastructure.
Argument: Continued funding for the program will allow 36,000 Californians to enter treatment through the criminal justice system in 2009-10 and protect the state’s addiction treatment infrastructure, which grew by 66% in the first five years following passage of Proposition 36.
Proposition 36 participants account for 30% of all people in treatment in the state of California. Over half of participants had never before accessed treatment, despite problematic drug use for a decade or longer. Proposition 36 is an important court intervention program that allows 36,000 addicted Californians to access treatment each year.
Evidence: Since 61% of voters approved the measure in 2000, over 280,000 people have entered treatment – half had never received treatment before – and over 96,000 participants have completed the program. By 2007, the annual completion rate had surpassed 40%. At the same time, the number of people in state prison for simple drug possession has dropped by about 40% (or 8,000) since 2000. As a result, the state now spends $400 million less each year to incarcerate simple drug possession offenders.
Drug use dropped by 71% among Proposition 36 completers, and by 60% among people who participated in the program. Employment nearly doubled among Prop 36 completers (an 82.5% increase). For every dollar invested in the program, the state saves a net $2.50-4. Among treatment completers, savings go up and recidivism goes down.
Solution: Funding Proposition 36 through federal dollars and reduced incarceration spending will maintain an essential treatment entry point and an effective criminal justice safety valve.
