Important background information for this article:

"Proposition 36 Takes Effect July 1"

On November 7, 2000, California voters passed Proposition 36. This law is known as the "Substance Abuse Crime Prevention Act (SACPA)". It provides community-based treatment programs for non-violent defendants who are charged with drug possession or drug use offenses. These offenders will be sentenced to drug treatment programs instead of time in prison.

Story

He's not violent, but he's definitely got a drug problem. Under California's new law, offenders like Robert Downey Jr. could get sentenced to treatment, not time.

Glenn Backe of the Drug Policy Foundation says, "The only law they broke is they are in possession of drugs. They have no other crimes at the time; they have no other violent crimes in the last five years."

"You are charged with being under the influence of cocaine", says Judge Peggy Hora. She once used treatment and jail like the carrot and the stick. It was a stick that the new law all but takes away. "You are also eligible under California's new law which went into effect today."

In East Palo Alto's Free at Last drug treatment center, the new law will help pay to house another 12 addicts.

But, no one is exactly sure how the law is going to work.

California jails more drug users per capita than any other state. This new law could change for low-level offenders. It could save 250 million dollars a year, say supporters. For the next five and a half years, 36 thousand drug offenders will be sentenced to treatment.

Will they go?

Will they quit using drugs?

The answers will determine the outcome of one of California's boldest legal experiments.

Related Websites:

• American Council for Drug Education: The American Council for Drug Education is "a substance abuse prevention and education agency that develops programs and materials based on the most current scientific research on drug use and its impact on society.
  
• California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP): The ADP works "…to prevent and reduce alcohol and other drug problems through public funding for local services provided by counties and community-based program". The agency also licenses treatment and recovery programs.
  
• Club Drugs-National Institute on Drug Abuse
  
• Drugs of Concern, Drug Enforcement Administration: This website gives statistics about drug use in the United States, and it defines and describes many controlled substances.
• Free at Last: Success stories
• National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information: This is a service of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service: This is an extensive list of websites about research and policy related to drug use/ drug treatment.
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): NIDA is a part of the National Institutes of Health, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This excellent website contains information divided into three sections: information for researcher/ health professionals; parents and teachers; and students.
• Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act: This is the State of California’s webpage containing the full text of the law enacted by Proposition 36. It also contains many good links to other websites and to drug treatment information.
• US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration
  

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