This project, based in Sacramento, focuses on reducing drug abuse, infectious disease and other harms associated with both drug use and drug prohibition. Priorities include prevention of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and fatal overdose in cities and states around the country.

In the wake of the passage of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (Proposition 36), the elected officials and general public of California proved ready to be a leader in drug policy reform. The California Capital Office works intimately with state legislators and agencies, county officials, the general public and affected communities to initiate and support drug policy reforms and life-saving public health measures. Additionally, the office serves as a watchdog, coordinating opposition to drug war legislation that perpetuates the death, disease, crime and suffering resulting from current drug policies.

Legislative Advocacy

The California Capital Office works each year to present the California legislature with a legislative package, including legislation that is written, sponsored and coordinated by the Alliance, designed to reduce the harms of drug use and reform current prohibitionist policies. Legislation that the Alliance has sponsored includes syringe deregulation, overdose prevention, after school program development, and supplemental Proposition 36 legislation. Examples of bills that the Alliance has supported includes, but is not limited to, licensure of drug treatment counselors and sober living environments, voluntary registration of medical marijuana patients, expansion of funds for women with children in drug treatment, possession of marijuana as a misdemeanor and many others.

Proposition 36 Implementation Project

The Drug Policy Alliance, in partnership with the Campaign for New Drug Policies, led the successful campaign to draft and pass California’s Proposition 36 in 2000, diverting nonviolent drug offenders from prison to treatment. Since then, we have become the leading watchdog group - looked to by the press, the public and many elected officials - ensuring its appropriate implementation. Between July 1, 2001 (when it went into effect) and April 30, 2002, Prop. 36 diverted 12,594 people from jail and prison to drug treatment in five counties alone (Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and Ventura) - saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars. The measure - and its success - are prominent in discussions around the country among state lawmakers facing budget crises and overcrowded prisons.

The Alliance’s Prop. 36 monitoring efforts focus on six key areas. (1) Our public education and media campaigns have kept public support for Prop. 36 high while focusing unwanted attention on those obstructing it. (2) Our grassroots organizing efforts have created, educated and supported community groups in counties across the state. (3) Our legislative advocacy has helped expand the reach of Prop. 36 and defend it against its opponents in Sacramento. (4) Our active participation in every state-mandated committee concerning the regulation of the measure has prevented efforts to undermine the measure administratively. (5) Our legal advocacy has been the principal guardian of Prop. 36 in the courts. And (6) our role as statewide experts will be crucial to ensuring positive and accurate official evaluations of Prop. 36 - which will influence ongoing state funding and heighten its usefulness to us as a model for other states.

Additional information about Proposition 36, including updated reports, can be found at www.Prop36.org

Contact Information

1225 8th Street
Ste 570
Sacramento, CA 95814-4804
916.444.3751 phone
916.444.3802 fax
sacto@drugpolicy.org