More than 500 clients, graduates and supporters of Proposition 36, California’s treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, gathered at the state Capitol on April 19 to celebrate five years of the hugely successful program and demand that it be fully funded.
 
The event kicked off with a rally in Capitol Park. Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) addressed the crowd, calling for continuation and expansion of the program. Gretchen Burns Bergman, who ran the Southern California Prop 36 campaign in 2000, reminded the grads to keep fighting for everyone's right to treatment. Prop 36 graduates from all over the state took their turn to advocate for the program as well: Jayne from Sacramento, Cynthia McDonald from San Diego, Tammy Bardwell from Los Angeles, and John Delano from Long Beach.
 
Delano noted that he had never finished high school, but is now holding a 4.0 grade point average in college thanks to Prop 36 treatment. Tammy Bardwell explained that the program saved her life, and without it she would be in jail or worse. Many of the graduates who attended the rally, including Cynthia McDonald, Oliver Hamilton and Rudy Mendez from San Diego, were able to do so thanks to generous donations from DPA supporters who made their travel possible.
 
Prison reform activist Dorsey Nunn rallied the crowd to march to the Capitol, where attendees took their message directly to lawmakers. Prop 36 graduates packed a budget hearing that was being held to discuss the future of Prop 36, and delivered letters to their legislators expressing the importance of funding and expanding the program. "Prop 36 grads came out in force at the Capitol because the program gave them a chance at a new life, one beyond active addiction and the criminal justice system," said Margaret Dooley, DPA's Prop 36 coordinator. "They are amazing and effective advocates, because they know better than anyone that Prop 36 works!"
 
Their message came on the heels of reports by UCLA (PDF) and the Justice Policy Institute highlighting the success of Prop 36. More than 140,000 people have entered treatment through the program in the last four years, and 60,000 will have graduated by July 1. The program is real world proof that treatment instead of incarceration can simultaneously reduce prison populations, increase funding for treatment, and still save taxpayers money.
 
Despite this track record of success, Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed holding Prop 36 funding at 1999 levels--a cut when inflation and expanded services are taken into account. Fortunately, Prop 36 advocates are having an impact. After the testimonies at yesterday's hearing, the committee went on record to recommend increasing funding for Prop 36 to $150 million--a $30 million increase over the Governor's proposed level.

The nation is taking notice of the effectiveness of Prop 36 as well. The Baltimore Sun recently called for more treatment for drug users and sellers in that state, pointing to Prop 36 as an example. The paper editorialized, "...Maryland's nonviolent drug offenders, from low-level distributors to shoplifters and petty thieves, are better off in treatment than in prison."

Prop 36 is important not only for the people it helps and the taxpayer dollars it saves, but also for its potential as a model for the rest of the country. DPA, which sponsored this week's rally and march, will continue to work with graduates and grassroots communities to protect and expand the program. See pictures of the rally and learn more.