Propostition 36 Essay example - 1210 Words

Propostition 36 Where has our war on drugs gotten us thus far? Currently, nearly 500,000 Americans are incarcerated for drug law violations, a ten-fold increase in two decades. The overall inmate population has quadrupled to nearly 2 million arrests for drug law violations and continues to rise. The vast majority of these arrests are for simple possession. (Crime in The United States, Uniform Crime Reports, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1999.) Personally, three convicted drug-users have shared their battle with addiction with me; the results of these conversations were far from optimistic. Of the two who have become reformed drug-users, a constant battle is being waged, it can only be said that jail terms served irrelevant in†¦show more content†¦If we are going to seriously consider an alternative solution to the financially murderous process of our current drug policies, one must take fiscal responsibility into consideration. A California governmental study showed that taxpayers save $7 for every $1 invested in drug treatment. The states impartial Legislative Analyst says Proposition 36 can save California hundreds of millions of dollars a year, even after spending $120 million annually on treatment programs. In comparison, The average cost to the taxpayer of California per inmate, per year is $23, 406. (Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997.) The average cost of a full treatment program per client is $4,300. (National Treatment Evaluation Study, Center for Substance Abuse, 1997.) Beyond these statistics, Currently, only 12% of the overall parole system budget is spent reintegrating paroles back into society. (Legislative Analysts Office, Analysis of the 98-99 Budget Bill, 2000.) The question is where would we rather place our money, in the hands of those aimed at rehabilitating these offenders or with those who by impartial analysis spend only 12% of their annual budget rehabilitating them? The cost balance seems und eniable, if we can convert people from becoming inmates