The official sample ballot I received describes prop 5 as : Allocates $460,000,000 annually to improve and expand treatment programs. Limits court authority to incarcerate offenders who commit certain drug crimes, break drug treatment rules or violate parole. Fiscal impact: Increased state costs potentially exceeding $1 billion annually primarily for expansion of offender treatment programs. State saving potentially exceeding $1 billion annually on corrections operations. Net one-time state prison capital outlay saving potentially exceeding $2.5 billion.
Personally, I think this is a great proposition. I was wondering why California voters, and US voters for that matter, hadn’t seen what a dupe the “war on drugs” has been. We spend billions of dollars fighting this war to no avail. Drug offenders need rehabilitation more so than any other felon. Their crime often renders themselves the only victim and yet we spend billions to incarcerate them. Our prison system is overflowing with non-violent drug offenders and often the solution presented is “just build more prisons.” Finally, a proposition that makes perfect sense!
You bring up a very good point; however I personally feel that a better solution is helping our youth, preventing them from even going down that path. Yes you are right something must be done for the offenders now but most of our attention should be on our youth. We should use that money to create after school programs, activities at parks, tournaments where everyone can participate, something to keep children and adolescents off the streets. Statistics show that most crime by children and adolescents is done after school hours. So I believe if we start early we might prevent them from going into a life of drugs and crime.
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ReplyDeletefeel that this proposition has been long over due and badly needed to begin shifting the image assigned to drug offenses,which has been largely exaggerated by lobbist law makers looking to put the blame of all woes in society on "drugs" and those who use them. You are better off commiting a robbery, a mugging or variours of other acts (except murder), than to get convicted of any drug offense(most in california are non-violent offenses) because you will do more time than a good portion of violent crimes or white collar crimes(which gets little to no focus from society because the wealthy are more likely to commit this type of crime). Prisons are over populated mainly due to the largely publicized drug offenses, and believe me that sending someone to jail for a drug offense, which the general idea for sending someone to jail would be to get them to stop them doing what they are doing, get more connected and more than likely will get more into what ever they are into(selling or using. What other options do they have in finding employment or good employment if they are taken into prison and then released? Drug has been made into a big moral issue and if you feel that you are a drug free person...you have no idea how many of household medicines, doctor prescribed pills (ex.codin, ritalin, methadone, motrin, and many many more), and inhalers have the chemical properties of the drugs you point your finger too (like crystal meth and herion). Its not after hours that kid do things all this is learn during school, used during school and is not surpressed simple because you are on school campus. We need to help people instead of sticking them in jars and putting them on a shelfs, because things do rot more over time
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