Arizona Residents: Do you want to pay more taxes to actually make Arizona less safe? We don't think so. That's why we urge you to vote "No" on Proposition 301 on Election Day (November 7th).

The Drug Policy Alliance Network strongly supports Arizona's treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, the Drug Medicalization, Prevention, and Control Act. This law has diverted thousands of nonviolent drug offenders from jail to treatment and saved Arizona taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Arizona voters overwhelming approved the law in 1996, and then approved it again in 1998 after drug war demagogues in the state legislature tried to undercut it. Now, those politicians are trying to overturn the will of the voters again with Proposition 301 - and it could cost Arizona taxpayers millions of dollars. Fortunately, Arizona voters will get a chance to vote on the issue on November 7th.

Proposition 301 would exclude nonviolent people arrested for methamphetamine possession from Arizona's successful treatment program. The result would be fewer people receiving substance abuse treatment, more violent criminals being released from prison to make room for nonviolent offenders, and more of your tax money being wasted. (The Arizona Supreme Court estimates the average substance abuse treatment cost per an offender who enters treatment is $688. By contrast, it costs an average of $19,505 to keep one person in state prison for a year.) Treatment for methamphetamine abuse works - and it's the only way to reduce meth addiction, undermine the illegal meth market, and keep Arizona safe. There's no need to fix something that's not broken.

Here's What You Can Do

1. Vote "No" on Proposition 301 on November 7th.
2. Forward this alert to your friends, family and co-workers and urge them to vote "No" on Proposition 301. 
3. Volunteer for the statewide campaign to defeat Proposition 301. The campaign needs your help distributing brochures, contacting voters, and going door-to-door. For more information or to get involved, please contact the campaign at: (520) 358-6931 or mailto:no301az@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
http://www.drugpolicy.org

More Information

1. Proposition 301 and why it's bad here
2. Arizona's successful drug treatment program here (PDF)
3. Methamphetamine here

Despite the myths that are often perpetuated, treatment for methamphetamine abuse is very effective:

• A 2003 survey of treatment approaches published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment concluded "that clients who report methamphetamine abuse respond favorably to existing treatment." [Cretzmeyer, M., Sarrazin, M.V., Huber, D.L., et al. (2003). "Treatment of Methamphetamine Abuse: Research Findings and Clinical Directions," Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, Vol. 24, pp. 267-277.]
• A study in Washington State found that "there were no statistically significant differences across a series of outcomes between clients using methamphetamine and those using other substances." [Luchansky, B. (2003). Treatment for Methamphetamine Dependency is as Effective as Treatment for Any Other Drug. Olympia, WA: Looking Glass Analytics.]
• There are at least twenty recent studies showing the efficacy of methamphetamine treatment. [King, Ryan. (2006). The Next Big Thing? Methamphetamine in the United States. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.]
• In an open letter to the media last year, dozens of treatment professionals warmed that the myth that abuse of methamphetamine cannot be treated is causing great harm.
  • "Claims that methamphetamine users are virtually untreatable with small recovery rates lack foundation in medical research. Analysis of dropout, retention in treatment and re-incarceration rates and other measures of outcome, in several recent studies indicate that methamphetamine users respond in an equivalent manner as individuals admitted for other drug abuse problems."
• In November 2000 California voters approved a landmark statewide measure, sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance Network, that offers first- and second-time drug possession offenders a real opportunity for recovery. The Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000, or Proposition 36, requires the state to provide drug treatment, rather than jail time, for nonviolent drug possession offenders. More than 19,000 people who use methamphetamine enter treatment annually under the program, and no other statewide program in the nation has offered treatment to more methamphetamine offenders, or graduated more methamphetamine offenders, than Prop. 36.  Evaluations of the program have found that people who use methamphetamine successfully complete drug treatment at rates similar to other drugs.