Proposition 36, California’s groundbreaking treatment instead of incarceration initiative, had a significant victory this week in the California legislature. SB 803, a bill pushed by police groups which would have rewritten Prop 36, stalled in the Assembly Public Safety Commission yesterday. Sponsored by Senator Ducheny (D-San Diego), it was clear that neither the majority of Democrats nor Republicans were enthusiastic about the proposal to require counties to pay the costs of jailing tens of thousands of offenders currently getting drug treatment through Proposition 36.

Many aspects of SB 803 were flawed, including the proposal to require jail time for minor probation violations. The additional jail costs that SB 803 would have required would have been likely exceed $30 million per year. This based on the cost of jailing the 37,000 treatment clients annually for as few as seven days. Beyond that, SB 803 would also take medical decisions away from medical professionals.

“Prop 36 is saving lives and saving money. The cop-sponsored Ducheny bill pushes the mistaken idea that jail can be treatment, not punishment,” said Glenn Backes, director of health policy at the Drug Policy Alliance. “But the voters know better.”

Among those opposing the bill are physicians of the California Medical Association including specialists from the California Society of Addiction Medicine, as well as the Drug Policy Alliance, proponents of Proposition 36.

Alliance members played a vital role in this victory by sending more than 500 letters to the California legislature opposing the passage of SB 803. Because of this combined staunch support of Prop 36, the program will continue to do what 61% of voters in California intended it to do: save lives and money.