TIME FOR TREATMENT NOW
YES ON 36 — IT’S TIME TO STOP
THE SUFFERING ON OUR STREETS
Fentanyl and drug addiction are overwhelming our communities. They’re fueling the homelessness crisis, creating an epidemic of organized theft and raising costs for working families. To stop the suffering, we need to get more people into treatment.
That’s why we need to vote YES on Prop 36.
YES ON 36 — IT’S TIME FOR TREATMENT
Proposition 36 brings back the tools we need to require treatment for those who are unable to make rational decisions about their own care. Proposition 36 IS NOT about returning to the era of mass incarceration. Proposition 36 IS about launching a new era of mass treatment to keep people alive, out of jail, and off our streets by requiring help for those who so desperately need it.
YES ON 36 — IT’S TIME TO BRING EVERYONE INDOORS
The harsh reality is that since California took away the tools judges once used to require addiction treatment – homelessness in California has risen over 50 percent despite falling in most other states. By passing Proposition 36 this November we can use proven drug treatment programs to keep people out of jail, alive, and off our streets. Homelessness is not a crime. But failing to provide drug treatment to those who desperately need it leads to criminal behavior and represents a major contributor to the homelessness crisis.
YES ON 36 — IT’S TIME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Those who are repeatedly found guilty in a court of law of public possession and use of hard drugs should be held accountable for engaging in treatment. And that’s why we need Proposition 36 – because it offers a way to ensure those using hard drugs in public or stealing to fund an addiction are receiving the help they need to stay alive and get their lives back on track.
We all pay the price for retail thefts – especially working families under pressure from rising costs along with our struggling small business communities. It’s time to address the crisis of retail thefts with common sense and accountability.
YES ON 36 — IT’S TIME TO LAUNCH THE ERA OF MASS TREATMENT
When California adopted the well-meaning Proposition 47 in 2014, one of the unintended consequences was that California lost a key tool that promoted treatment. That’s why reforming Proposition 47 is so vitally important.
The facts are clear. Since Proposition 47’s passage, participation in drug courts has plummeted, overdose deaths have skyrocketed, and homelessness has risen sharply. These tragedies are occurring in part because judges no longer have the leverage they need to compel severely addicted individuals to enroll in and stay in treatment.
Proposition 47 assumed that shifting funding from jails to drug treatment options would increase utilization of that treatment. Tragically, the opposite has occurred by removing any consequences for those who fail to pursue the help they need.
Right now across California we have small businesses living under constant threat while consumers pay higher prices for what is essentially a “theft tax.” Proposition 36 brings back basic common sense by requiring that those guilty of multiple convictions for drug charges (three or more convictions) enter treatment or face the consequences and giving judges the latitude to require those found guilty of multiple thefts to feed their drug habits to seek treatment or other proven diversion programs.
Proposition 36 is NOT about going back to an era of mass incarceration. This is about creating a new era of mass treatment for the underlying conditions fueling so many thefts and driving so many people into homelessness.
"Many of our unhoused residents are suffering from untreated drug addiction that began or significantly worsened due to the harsh reality of life on our streets. Rather than simply ignore it let’s confront and change this reality. Prop 36 represents a tool to help us address the crisis of homelessness because people who receive treatment have a much greater chance of staying housed."
Many of our unhoused residents are suffering from untreated drug addiction that began or significantly worsened due to the harsh reality of life on our streets. Rather than simply ignore it – let’s confront and change this reality. Proposition 36 represents a tool to help us address the crisis of homelessness because people who receive treatment have a much greater chance of staying housed. This is not about criminalizing homelessness. It is about breaking the cycle of addiction and crime that are feeding each other.
Most Californians remember that we adopted Proposition 47 in 2014 hoping to end the era of mass incarceration. To be sure, Proposition 47 has helped lower our prison population. However, one key element of Proposition 47 reduced penalties for retail theft: single thefts under $950 are not classified as felonies – even if an individual or organized group is stealing $950 from multiple stores in one day or even stealing under $950 from different locations every day. Right now, an individual can steal $950 every day, multiple times in a day, 365 days a year, and never face real consequences.
Common sense – and compassionate – reforms to 47 will not only save businesses large and small – they will save lives. We have too many people suffering and dying on our streets today – stealing to stay alive and to support their drug addictions. It is neither wise nor compassionate, and certainly not progressive in any sense, to offer these people no hope when we could save them – and improve our communities – by making sure they receive the treatment they need and deserve.
Proposition 36 on our November ballot will allow a judge to charge a third hard drug possession conviction as a treatment-mandated felony. The offender would be assigned an addiction specialist, receive access to shelter and job training, and have the offense expunged upon successful completion of a treatment program. Proposition 36 would also add fentanyl to the list of hard drugs resulting in felony prison time for drug dealers when in possession of large quantities or firearms and give judges the ability to require retail theft offenders to seek treatment or enter into proven diversion programs.
The last thing we want to do is go back to the era of mass incarceration. But that’s not what Proposition 36 does. Together we can help end the suffering we see around us every day and usher in a new era of mass treatment for those who need it the most.