California's Proposition 36, also known as the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000, has gotten a mixed review in an evaluation of the program by UCLA. The program, which was designed to provide treatment as an alternative to incarceration for nonviolent adult drug offenders, has been hampered by a lack of funding, high dropout rates and a statewide increase in drug-related arrest.However, the rate of violent crime in the state has dropped, contrary to predictions by opponents of the program.
According to the report, created by UCLA's Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, drug and preperty crimes were indeed higher among offenders sentenced under the Proposition 36 guidelines, compared to a group of drug offenders sentenced under previous guidelines.
But the report said that was probably due to the fact that Proposition 36 offenders were out on the street and not behind bars. The study also found that violent crime in California dropped to a rate even lower than the national decrease in violent crime.
More Funding Needed
To deal with the high dropout rate for the program, the UCLA report suggests that the program increase sanctions for those who drop out of their treatment programs, including incarceration. The study also suggests more funding for narcotics treatment programs, employment counseling and residential treatment to increase the effectiveness of the program.
The program has been hampered by budget cuts due to increasing fiscal problems in California, but the UCLA report showed that Proposition 36 has saved state taxpayers $2 for every $1 spent on treatment, compared to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders.
"Funding for Proposition 36 has been insufficient and shrinking over the years, and this has eroded stakeholders' ability to adequately treat and monitor offenders," said Darren Urada, the UCLA evaluation's principal investigator.
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More funding must be allocated to this drug prevention programs, especially in California. Just a short time ago our Governor was going to release many offenders from our prison system due to overcrowding. I know that drug prevention is not cheap, but in the long run allocating monies towards drug rehabs in california will save this state money. You must fix the problem or it will continue to come back and cost you.
The cheapest and most effective alcohol/drug dependance treatment I ever saw was used by a judge in Maine around 30 years ago. He sentenced the offender to probation, with the requirement to attend the appropriate 12-step group for the duration of the probation. Probation was a minimum of 2 years, sometimes more, depending on degree of intoxication at the time of arrest and the seriousness of the behavior causing the arrest. This treatment cost nothing to the state other than the parole/probation officer’s salary.
In this day and age I’m not sure judges can order people to attend 12 step groups anymore. Some people consider them to be religious. Does anyone out there know for sure?
California’s Proposition 36 Gets “A Partial Review”
My conscience review to an article released in regards to California’s prop 36 called, “California’s prop 36 gets a mixed review”
Could the drop out rate be attributed to the lack of direction from a program which contracts over-night clinics passing out pamphlets promising false hopes to taxpayers bearing their qualified staff with years of adequate service in the treatment of addiction. Yes, and the only thing we need to deliver this dedication is MORE MONEY!
Eight years ago I had completed a very successful program by my own freewill. I was fortunate enough to have a family member with the appropriate financial capacity to aid me in my endeavor. The program was a 30 day/out-patient center requiring at least 3 to 4 hours everyday and was very expensive. A very high success rate from my experience an talking to the 40 other members going through the program and it’s 3 employees hosting.
I have always had a penchant for recording and or documenting any such experiences which deal in things so important to me. It worked however I realized the program was way over priced considering the employees monitoring and documenting daily diet and amount of sleep and minor counseling provided /clinic space /mega-vitamins to aid the body through it’s stage of withdrawal + daily increases in niacin to stimulate capillaries and agitate proper movement in blood cells also implemented is potassium and salt to replenish what the body loses during a daily series of “DRY” sauna sweats. The government agencies like the individual running the clinic I went to all suffer from the same human condition the need to put an over-inflated price tag on a service which should be at the disposal to any one who needs it. The MANDATORY programs I have watched my friends go through is one guy once a week passing out a pamphlet watching a bunch of movies stating drugs are bad Gee! I wish I could have had that little tidbit of knowledge to aid me in my troubled time. He went on to explain how during the movies everyone sits around talking about how they wish they were high now. I could imagine if I were to have done that at my program that would have been quite counter productive in the reaching of my goal.
After 9 decades of increasing failure, this so called drug war the government has waged on it’s own people is like any other money scam or over rated scheme, spurious and or bogus. Actually, I can’t think of any other policy which has wasted so many lives, made criminals out of so many more based on their addiction. Addiction is a disease. The last time I checked neither an addiction nor a disease was an illegal or criminal act but more of a human condition which not only a high percentage of people have but an increasingly harder cross to bear.
There is a name for something which has sustained a span of 90 years with increasing failure but still instituted without being considered Null and Void; It’s called a LIE. I must end with a quote, “……God only know why they couldn’t see the obvious. Is it because they manifest the incubus. When it’s boiled down and the day’s at an end I’ll give you no #### and I’ll never pretend”