Californians convicted of non-violent drug possession offenses, as well as parolees who use drugs, may get a reprieve from incarceration if voters approve an initiative this November titled “The Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000.”
The act, sponsored by Campaign for New Drug Policies, would provide drug treatment services to drug offenders instead of incarceration. If approved, $60 million will be allocated from the state general fund for drug treatment for the 2000-2001 fiscal year and $120 million each year after until 2005-2006.
“This initiative is a smarter drug policy for California,” said Dave Fratello, spokesman for Campaign for New Drug Policies. “Taxpayers will save more than $1 billion dollars over five years, and non-violent drug offenders will get the treatment services they need.”
Campaign for New Drug Policies has collected 710,000 signatures, almost 300,000 more than required for the initiative to appear on the ballot, and will be turning those petitions in to the California Secretary of State by the end of the week.
For more information, please contact Dave Fratello, spokesman for Campaign for New Drug Policies at (310) 394-2952 or visit http://www.drugreform.org.
