California’s Proposition 36 Legislation: Why Aren’t Other States Following Suit?
Since July, 2001, California has implemented Proposition 36, a legislative measure that allows those who are convicted on narcotics possession for the first or second time to receive drug rehabilitation treatment as opposed to serving time in jail or prison. Every year, California budget supplies $120 million in funds for treatment services specifically for Prop 36.
In jail and prison, inmates continue to use and learn new scams and hustles to apply on the outside when they’re released. They make new connections and alliances, join gangs, and become institutionalized. They’re forced into an Us Against Them war with the cops and pretty much everyone else. How does this help nonviolent users?
Evidence of the program’s success is overwhelming. There are hundreds of success stories, countless people who were once homeless now living inside and supporting themselves, even more families that are back together. The amount of money that this program saves the government in terms of costs for uninsured medical care, losses due to crime, law enforcement, Child Protective Services, welfare, food stamps, not to mention the overcrowded jails and prisons and the incredibly high cost to feed, clothe and house an inmate per year….The list is almost endless. In fact, it’s difficult to find a budget in any area of government that is not benefiting from Proposition 36.
Recently, California’s Prop 36 even defied the willy-nilly slashing sword of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA). Even Arnold can’t refute its success! So why doesn’t every state have similar legislation? More importantly, why isn’t it a federal requirement that each state institute something like Prop 36?
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