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| 17 October 2000 - The San Diego Union-Tribune Jail, time or treatment? Which one is better? By Mark Sauer Judge David Ryan is the first to admit that Proposition 36 – a. social experiment whose impact in California could be more profound than the "three-strikes" law – is flawed. Favored by almost 2 to 1 by state voters in a recent poll, the law would divert more than 35,000 non-violent drug offenders from state prisons and county jails to treatment programs. Under Proposition 36, state taxpayers will save between $100 million to $150 million annually in lower prison costs, plus a one-time savings of between $450 and $550 million in deferred prison-construction costs, according to the state Legislature's nonpartisan analyst Counties will save another $40 million annually. Studies have shown that incarceration of drug offenders is seven times more costly than treatment From 1970 to today, California's prison population has grown from about 10,000 to 163,0001, driven primarily by two things: A population explosion and the war on drugs. But none of the $120 million the proposition annually provides for drug treatment can be used for drug testing, which Ryan agrees is a mistake. (Testing is permitted under Proposition 36, but funding for it must come from somewhere other than the allotted state money, or from offenders themselves.) "Urine testing is an important component of any treatment program," Ryan said. "I asked the proponents why money for testing was excluded and they said the Sacramento drug court spent more money on testing than on treatment. "And I am troubled that the initiative seems broad enough to include those who slip daterape drugs into drinks, which is predatory. That's why I have chosen not to endorse Proposition 36 – I'm not going to campaign for it But. I am certainly voting for it." The provisions of Proposition 36 are similar to the way existing drug courts work in San Diego and many other (but not all) California counties. In drug court nonviolent drug offenders (adults or juveniles) undergo treatment and random testing under direct supervision of the judge. Offenders remain on probation and may be remanded to jail or prison should they fail to remain drug free. After successfully completing the drugcourt treatment program (a minimum of 12 months), the defendant's drug charge is dismissed. Initiated about four years ago, San Diego's drug courts claim a success rate in excess of 70 percent James Milliken, presiding judge of San Diego's juvenile court credits drug courts with cutting the local juvenile crime rate almost in half over the past three years. But drug courts, initiated as a pilot program seeded with federal and state funds, serve less than 2 percent of those eligible. "What about the other 98 percent?" asks Ryan, who was the county's first drug-court judge but left that post at the end of last year to concentrate on domestic-violence cases. "Proposition 36 will turn every judge in California into a drug-court judge." But critics of Proposition 36 say it will ruin drug courts. They note that besides having no random-testing provision, the measure removes an important "stick" from judges – the ability to slap a backsliding addict into county jail for a short time. This "splash of cold water is highly effective," Milliken said. "But if there are no consequences, many defendants are going to go back to doing drugs. That's a main reason so many of us oppose Proposition 36." But Ryan calls this argument overblown. "You don't need to have a huge stick to get compliance," he said. "I am part of a federal research project, the largest of its kind, tracing 1,000 methamphetamine users at eight sites across the country, including Oceanside. Preliminary data is showing a negative sanction of almost any kind will get people into treatment. "Is Prop. 36 going to solve all our drug problems overnight? Of Course not. There will be people who continue to use, notwithstanding the consequences. That's what addiction is." "But the incarceration model isn't working. It's time to try something else." Article Snapshot (14K) |
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