The
Substance Abuse and Crime
Prevention Act, also known
as Proposition 36, was passed
by 61% of California voters
on November 7, 2000. This
vote permanently changed state
law to allow first- and second-time
nonviolent, simple drug possession
offenders the opportunity
to receive substance abuse
treatment instead of incarceration.
Proposition 36 went into effect
on July 1, 2001, with $120
million for treatment services
allocated annually for five
years.
[more]
On April 9, some of
the state’s 84,000
graduates of Proposition
36, California’s
voter-approved, treatment-instead-of-incarceration
program, will gather
in Sacramento to celebrate
seven years of success
since the program was
implemented in mid-2001.
Join us! To learn more
about the event, see
the event
flyer or contact
Margaret
Dooley-Sammuli.
Check out the rally
t-shirt here.
In
early January, Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
announced dramatic plans
to cut the state budget
by 10% across the board
in 2008-09. The good
news is that the proposal
does not single out
California’s voter-approved,
treatment-instead-of-incarceration
program, Proposition
36, for cuts above this
baseline level. The
bad news is that, under
the plan, Prop. 36 faces
a 10% cut that would
put the program at its
lowest funding level
ever. In a third year
of funding shortfalls,
the program would have
only one thing left
to cut—the quality
and length of treatment
it provides. [read
more]
DPA
released a report this
week documenting the
successes of Proposition
36, the California initiative
that mandates treatment
instead of incarceration
for most people convicted
of nonviolent drug possession
offenses. The report,
entitled Proposition
36: Improving Lives,
Delivering Results,
found that Prop 36 had
significant benefits
for substance abuse
treatment as well as
reforms to the state's
costly prison system.
[read
more]
Get
the Facts
Over a dozen Proposition 36 fact sheets are available for download.
Topics include: the Effectiveness of Drug Treatment, Drug Courts/Deferred
Entry, and the California Correctional System.
