Dissecting California's Prop 5: The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act

Supporters of a new initiative appearing on the California ballots next week say it has the potential, if passed, to be the first step to restructuring our nation's drug laws. Those who oppose it claim it gives criminals a "get out of jail free" card.

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) November 1, 2008 -- According to the proponents of Proposition 5, the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA) would ease prison overcrowding by investing in drug treatment with strict accountability for youth and nonviolent offenders. California's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that, if passed, Prop 5 would cut state costs by $2.5 billion or more; the price of drug treatment is statistically far less than that of a prison sentence.

Prop 5 would would place nonviolent drug offenders in one of three different levels of care and supervision, based on their criminal history and drug problem severity. Participants who fail at the lower levels could be moved up to the more intensive levels, or could be jailed for noncompliance. Completing the prescribed course of treatment can lead to the participant's drug offense being dropped from his or her criminal record.

"California has been a pioneer in restructuring our nation's drug laws towards focusing more on treating drug abuse as an illness instead of a crime," says filmmaker Kevin Booth, creator of the Showtime television documentary American Drug War: The Last White Hope. Booth's Sacred Cow Productions released a short video on YouTube about Prop 5 titled "Vote YES on Prop 5" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BZxIFkeu_Q) and appeared on the nationally syndicated Alex Jones Radio Show on Friday, October 31, to discuss the proposition.

US Drug Czar John Walters made news recently when he spoke out in favor of limited drug decriminalization in Mexico. "Apparently recognizing the damage done to Mexico by its war on drugs, and seeing the related increasing violence as a potential threat to U.S. security, Walters praised a plan by Mexican president Felipe Calderón to drop prosecution for possession of small amounts of illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Under Calderón's plan, offenders could choose treatment, instead of jail." - http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/2008/10/29/drug-czar-backs-marijuana-decriminalization.htm

Included among the many groups supporting Prop 5 are the League of Women Voters of California, the Consumer Federation of California, the California Nurses Association, the California Society of Addiction Medicine, and the California Federation of Teachers, and the Mental Health Association of America.

Opposition to the measure includes Dianne Feinstein, the Los Angeles Times and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. However, the most prominent opposition comes from a number of law enforcement related labor unions whose interests are, as mandated, to keep their members employed. The state prison guards' union alone has contributed almost $2 million to TV ads going against the measure.

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