Maggie Hart, [email protected]
Sacramento, C.A. – Last night, California voters passed Proposition 36 (2024), a ballot measure backed by prosecutors, corporate giants, and prison executives that promised to increase connections to addiction treatment through arrests but will in fact divert resources and funding from prevention, re-entry, and evidence-based treatment. Prop. 36 would “re-felonize” simple possession of drugs and increase penalties for other drug offenses. It is estimated to grow the California prison population by 35% over the next 5 years, further straining a criminal legal system that is not equipped to accommodate the complex health needs of people who use drugs.
The passage of Prop. 36 follows laws and policies in other jurisdictions, such as Oregon, Idaho, San Francisco, West Virginia, and Philadelphia, where disinformation campaigns and false promises have walked back health-based approaches to drugs, overdose prevention and harm reduction services, and criminal-legal reforms. In Oregon, the push to overturn Measure 110, which decriminalized small possession of drugs, was predicated on unsubstantiated claims that the law had negatively impacted the overdose crisis and public safety, despite research that showed it did not increase overdose or crime.
In Oregon, drug war defenders claimed that recriminalizing drugs and forcing people into treatment through “deflection programs” would address public suffering, homelessness, and overdose. However, in many counties, deflection programs have still not been established. In Oregon and across the country, criminalization and forced treatment fail to address why people are struggling — housing is unavailable, treatment is expensive and inaccessible, and many urgently need medical and social services. Policies that prioritize criminalization mean that instead of connections to services or treatment, people struggling with addiction will be met with handcuffs and forced into an ill-equipped, complicated criminal legal system that increases overdose risk and destabilizes lives.
In response, Kassandra Frederique, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance released the following statement:
“Prop. 36 is yet another example of corporate interests and drug war defenders playing on people’s fears to double down on the failed approaches of the past that created the interrelated crises of overdose, homelessness, and public suffering. Decades of treating addiction as a criminal problem instead of a health issue is why evidence-based treatment, supportive housing, and health services are scarce or inaccessible. Needlessly slapping ‘felony’ labels on people struggling with addiction is what has led to entire portions of our population being shut out of housing opportunities, food stamps, and employment. These 1980s-style, racially biased responses throw people into downward spirals and do nothing to expand the health solutions that are proven to work.
“In California and across the country, the drug war 2.0 is being sold by people who want quick fixes to problems that were created by bad policy decisions and divestment from social support systems. Overdose and public drug use are concerning issues – and our communities deserve real solutions, including wrap-around services, evidence-based treatment, and prevention that saves lives and improves conditions.
“The sad truth is policies like Prop. 36 in California and H.B. 4002 in Oregon will do little more than fill up jail cells and spit people back on the street in worse shape than before, while further limiting access to the resources people need to stay safe. Only through investments in people’s essential need for health services, housing, and employment – and leaders who have the backbone to fight for them – can we get on the right track. Anything less will just ensure our communities continue struggling.”
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About the Drug Policy Alliance
The Drug Policy Alliance is the leading organization in the U.S. working to end the drug war, repair its harms, and build a non-punitive, equitable, and regulated drug market. We envision a world that embraces the full humanity of people, regardless of their relationship to drugs. We advocate that the regulation of drugs be grounded in evidence, health, equity, and human rights. In collaboration with other movements and at every policy level, we change laws, advance justice, and save lives. Learn more at drugpolicy.org.
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