The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

The two measures, one supported by law enforcement and the other by the medical community, would make key changes to Proposition 36, the law giving nonviolent drug offenders the option of going into treatment instead of jail.

Senate Bill 803 would give judges more authority to track and discipline nonviolent drug offenders participating in Proposition 36 treatment programs.

The measure supported by drug-court judges, prosecutors and law enforcement easily passed the state Senate by the necessary two-thirds majority on Wednesday, despite strong opposition from the medical community.

Despite its passage, the measure hangs in limbo because its companion measure, state Senate Bill 556, must also pass for either bill to move on to the Assembly.

The second bill has fallen several votes short of approval. On the verge of failing, the bill was amended with an urgency clause on Thursday, giving its author another week to drum up support.

Submitted by state Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, state Senate Bill 556 would require counties to devote at least 88percent of Proposition 36 money to treatment, not administrative costs, thus steering more money toward directly helping addicts.

"Frankly, the treatment ... has been found to be lacking,' said Migden, who favors providing more treatment over incarceration.

She said 85percent of addicts are treated as outpatients because of a lack of inpatient beds.

State Senate Bill 803, written by state Sen. Denise Moreno Duchney, D-San Diego, would permit judges handling Proposition 36 cases to intensify drug and alcohol treatment or impose brief jail stays, so-called "flash incarcerations,' on those who violate probation or relapse on drugs.

Those supporting state Senate Bill 803 cite studies that found 30percent of those in Proposition 36-driven programs failed to show up for treatment.

However, that percentage is not out of line with statistics from other programs, said Doug Longshore, who heads the state-sponsored team from UCLA evaluating Proposition 36.

"Some people may be disappointed, but it's about what you get when you refer offenders to treatment programs,' he said.

However, the numbers could be higher if judges had more leeway, said Ronald Gilbert, a drug-court commissioner at West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga.

"Prop. 36 does lack the teeth,' he said.

Drug-court judges, who generally handle serious offenders, can apply a carrot-and-stick approach, quickly jailing those who relapse or otherwise violate probation.

"It really does work,' Gilbert said.

Those representing the medical and drug and alcohol treatment communities disagree.

According to the best research, jailing addicts simply doesn't work, said Dr. Donald Kurth, chief of Addiction Medicine at Loma Linda University and president of the California Society of Addiction Medicine. Addicts need treatment, he said.

"The drug-court judges want to play doctor,' he said.

Drug and alcohol addiction is a public health problem that should be treated as such, Kurth said. "It's the greatest public health problem of our time.'

Additionally, despite what law enforcement contends, initial studies indicate Proposition 36 has been working, he said.

Proposition 36 has been saving California taxpayers about $150 million a year, said Glenn Backes with the Drug Policy Alliance.

The number of drug offenders in prisons has dropped by 36percent since Proposition 36 was implemented, according to an Alliance report.

Housing a drug offender in prison costs about $31,000 a year, while treatment and its associated costs run $3,330 a year, the report said.

About 35,000 drug offenders a year have passed through Proposition 36 programs, many of them going into treatment for the first time, Backes said.

A UCLA study published in 2003 found that about 70 percent of participants in Proposition 36 programs actually entered treatment.

Half of the participants reported methamphetamine as their primary drug. About 15 percent listed crack cocaine as their drug of choice.

Marijuana came in next at 12 percent, followed by heroin use, affecting 11 percent.

The majority of Proposition 36 program participants, 86 percent, were referred to outpatient treatment, according to the study.

Of those, the study found, more than 80 percent completed 30 days of treatment.