With the November 4 elections now less than two weeks away, most people, drug reformers included, are focused on the near term.

For Immediate Release: October 20, 2008
Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli at (213) 291-4190 or Tommy McDonald at (510) 229-5215

California Society of Addiction Medicine Endorses Proposition 5: Treatment Community Unifying Behind Measure

SACRAMENTO, October 20 – The California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) has endorsed Proposition 5, the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act. The association of physicians specializing in addiction treatment will be discussing the measure at their annual gathering in Newport Beach this week. Prop. 5 would significantly expand access to drug treatment for young people, nonviolent offenders and California’s prison and parole populations.

Dr. Judy Martin, president of CSAM, said, “We have tried incarceration as a primary response to addictive illness for decades and it has failed utterly. Prop. 5 marks a historic shift towards a treatment approach for nonviolent drug offenses. Decades of research and experience show that addiction responds very well to treatment. By reducing addictive behavior, treatment also reduces drug-motivated crime. Now is the time for our policies to reflect that fact. Prop. 5 will bring our response to addiction in line with the science, while protecting public safety.”

Dr Martin continued, “Successful addiction treatment holds individuals accountable for their behavior. Prop. 5 gets that right, too, by incorporating sanctions in the community and jail sanctions. Prop. 5 enhances the court’s authority to determine who should and shouldn’t participate in court-supervised treatment and to hold those people accountable during treatment.”

California spends $10 billion each year to operate state prisons, but little of that money goes to treatment or rehabilitation for inmates. According to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, more than 140,000 of the 170,000 people in prison in California have a drug problem.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office calculates that Prop. 5 will lower incarceration costs by $1 billion each year and will cut another $2.5 billion in state costs for prison construction. This doesn’t include savings related to reduced crime, lower social costs (e.g. emergency room visits, child protective services, welfare), and increased individual productivity.

Dr. Martin continued, “California cannot continue with its failed policies toward addiction. Now is the time to invest in what we know works to reduce addiction-motivated crime – drug treatment.”

For more information, visit www.Prop5Yes.org and www.csam-asam.org.

Faced with budgetary pressures and a prison population that has quadrupled in the last 25 years because of harsh mandatory minimum sentencing laws, the Pennsylvania Senate voted last week to approv

With election day less than two months away, the battle over California's groundbreaking "treatment not jail" initiative is heating up.

Clients, graduates and supporters of Proposition 36, California’s treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, will gather at the Capitol to celebrate seven years of the groundbreaking program’s success. Hundreds of rally participants will represent the over 84,000 people who have graduated from the program in the last seven years—and call attention to the over $1.5 billion saved by Prop 36 so far.

[Courtesy of Drug Policy Alliance]

For Immediate Release: April 7, 2008
Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli (213) 291-4190

Hundreds to Celebrate Prop 36 at California Capitol

Third Annual “Prop 36 Works!” Rally Counts Lives and Dollars Saved

Wednesday, 11-1pm: Rally and March in Capitol Park

Sacramento – Clients, graduates and supporters of Proposition 36, California’s treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, will gather at the Capitol on April 9 to celebrate seven years of the groundbreaking program’s success. Hundreds of rally participants will represent the over 84,000 people who have graduated from the program in the last seven years—and call attention to the over $1.5 billion saved by Prop 36 so far.

Many participants at Wednesday’s rally are in recovery rather than jail thanks to Prop 36, and have come from around the state to show their support for the program and for treatment rather than incarceration. After the outdoor rally, the crowd will march and then enter the Capitol Building to leave that message with their legislators.

WHAT: Prop 36 Works! rally
WHEN: Wednesday, April 9, 11a.m. rally ; 1p.m. march.
WHERE: North steps, California Capitol Building, Sacramento.
WHO: Prop 36 graduates from across California, Parent advocates for Prop 36, Formerly incarcerated people
& advocates, Legislators

The Drug Policy Alliance, sponsor of the event, was instrumental in the campaign to pass Prop 36 in 2000 and continues to work to protect the program. Co-sponsors represent the wide support for the program: California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC), California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources (CAARR), California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives (CAADPE), California Society of Addiction Medicine, The Effort, & NCADD Sacramento.

Other supporters include: A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing), All of Us or None, Alpha Project, Beacon House Association of San Pedro, California Church IMPACT, Coalition for Effective Public Safety (CEPS), County Alcohol and Drug Programs Administrators Association of California (CADPAAC) & Justice Now.

For more information, visit: www.prop36.org.

California's prison system is in crisis.

For Immediate Release: July 23, 2007
Contact: Margaret Dooley at (213) 291-4190 or Dave Fratello at (310) 394-2952

Al Gore III Faces Up to Three Years in Prison for Drug Possession; Californians Favor Alternatives to Incarceration

CA Law Offers Treatment to 36,000 Nonviolent, Low-level Drug Offenders—Famous and Not—Every Year

Gore Heads to Court as CA Senate Debates Budget Cuts to Prop. 36

LOS ANGELES, July 23 – Al Gore III, the 24-year-old son of the former vice president, is facing more than three years in prison for simple drug possession following an arrest in Southern California earlier this month. Advocates call for Gore to receive what most nonviolent, low-level drug offenders in California do—community-based treatment instead of incarceration under Prop. 36, passed by 61% of voters in 2000. The DA of Orange County will determine Gore’s eligibility for the program in the next couple of weeks.

Margaret Dooley, Prop. 36 Coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance, said, “It is a tragedy when anyone enters the criminal justice system—rather than the healthcare system—because of drug use. Thanks to Prop. 36, people in California can address those problems, without adding the trauma and stigma of incarceration. We hope the court will find that Gore is one of the tens of thousands who could benefit from Prop. 36 this year.”

Over 36,000 people—famous and not—benefit from Prop. 36 each year. Daniel Baldwin, brother of Alec Baldwin, last week told Larry King that Prop. 36 intervened in his long-term cocaine addiction and allowed him to access the treatment he needed. His story is similar to that of Rudy Mendez, a not-so-famous resident of San Diego, who entered Prop. 36 to treat his long-term addiction to heroin, and has been sober for five years. Both men are now spokesmen for recovery and work with others to spread the news that “Recovery Happens!” and that one way to get there is Prop. 36.

Gore’s arrest and Baldwin’s interview come just as the California Senate considers cutting funding to Prop. 36, in exchange for hefty tax breaks for large corporations. Advocates say the plan to cut funding to the life-saving and cost-effective program is a slap in the face of California voters.

In 2000, 61 % of California voters approved Prop. 36, permanently changing state law so that all eligible nonviolent drug possession offenders must be given the option of state-licensed treatment. In just six years, over 70,000 Californians have graduated Prop. 36 and taxpayers have saved $1.8 billion. For more information, visit www.Prop36.org.

To see Larry King interview Daniel Baldwin about his addiction and Prop. 36, visit http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2007/07/19/lkl.daily.danie...
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For Immediate Release: May 17, 2007 Contact: Naomi Long (202) 669-6071 or Laura Jones: (202) 425-4659

Lawmakers, judges, and advocates rebuke Gov. O’Malley’s veto of sentencing reform bill;

O’Malley “clinging to the failed policies of the past” in a “lapse of leadership”

Coalition vows to continue educating O’Malley, promoting treatment instead of prisons

Annapolis—A coalition of advocates, law enforcement officials, drug treatment providers and policy experts today denounced Governor O’Malley’s veto of a bill that would have provided the possibility of parole for non-violent drug offenders. The sentencing reform bill, HB 992, was one of the only bills vetoed by O’Malley, despite its support from the legislature, the coalition, and the editorial pages of the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun.

“The veto is a disappointing mistake,” said Justice Policy Institute executive director Jason Ziedenberg. “Instead of taking a baby step in the right direction towards treatment instead of prison, O’Malley is stubbornly clinging to the failed tough on crime policies of the past. The governor failed to show leadership and vision in this decision.”

States across the country have taken steps to reform ineffective mandatory sentencing laws that remove discretion to consider the individual facts of the case. Newly-elected Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) recently called for wide ranging mandatory minimum sentencing reform. Newly-elected New York Governor Elliot Spitzer added language in his budget for a prison closure commission, and is considering a bill to further reform the state’s Rockefeller Drug Laws. Under the comparatively modest Maryland reform, individuals convicted of a 10-year sentence for a nonviolent drug reform would have been eligible for, but not guaranteed, parole. Individuals convicted of violent crimes would serve the full 10-year sentences.

“Governor O’Malley has put Maryland out of step with other states that are moving in the direction of smarter, more effective sentencing policies,” said Naomi Long, Director of the Drug Policy Alliance District of Columbia Metropolitan Area project. “This veto was a lapse of leadership, and hurts Maryland’s efforts to implement the kinds of real reforms that would actually make a difference.”

The state of Maryland spends millions of dollars each year incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders, the vast majority of whom would be better served by drug treatment options. A recent report by the Justice Policy Institute found that Maryland's sentencing laws disproportionately affect communities of color and may be the least effective, most expensive way to promote public safety.

“The fight for more effective and fair sentencing policies isn’t over,” said Delegate Curtis Anderson (D-Baltimore), a sponsor of the legislation. “Maryland voters want more fair and effective sentencing policies. We will keep working with the Governor to implement those reforms.”

The Partnership for Treatment, Not Incarceration supported HB 992, and is a consortium of organizations and individuals including members of faith communities, public health and drug treatment professionals, public defenders, judges, police and other law enforcement.

For more information about bill, or to interview spokespeople who can respond, contact Naomi Long (202)669-6071. To learn more about sentencing reform work in Maryland, visit: www.justicepolicy.org and www.drugpolicy.org .

For Immediate Release: May 10, 2007
Contact: Margaret Dooley, tel: (858) 336-3685 or Dave Fratello, tel: (310) 394-2952

Ahead of Monday Budget Release, Advocates Urge Gov. to Increase Drug Treatment Funding

MEDIA ADVISORY: April 17, 2007
Contact: Margaret Dooley (858) 336-3685

Hundreds of Prop. 36 Grads Rally at Capitol to Celebrate Program’s Success

Treatment-Not-Incarceration Program Has Graduated Over 70,000 Californians and Saved Taxpayers Over $1.5 Billion in Six Years

[Courtesy of the Sentencing Project]

Dear Friend:

The Sentencing Project has released a new study reporting growing momentum for sentencing reform designed to limit prison population growth and reduce ballooning corrections budgets in the United States.