California's Get Out of Jail Free Program

The voters were promised all sorts of liberal dreams of rehabilitated druggies when they passed Proposition 36 awhile back. As expected, the program has not performed up to its pre-election hype:

The most comprehensive assessment of California's landmark effort to treat drug users rather than jail them has found that nearly half of offenders sentenced under the program fail to complete rehab and more than a quarter never show up for treatment.

The high failure rates have prompted a growing number of critics to call for jail sanctions for defendants they say take advantage of the program's lack of penalties.

Voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36 in November 2000. Under the program, most people convicted of drug possession get three chances to complete rehab and kick their addictions before a judge can send them to prison.

To date, the initiative has cost California more than $600 million. By diverting thousands of nonviolent drug offenders from lockups, the measure has reduced the burden on prisons and saved the state $2.50 for every $1 spent, according to UCLA's study of Proposition 36.

So far, researchers have analyzed each of the nearly 100,000 defendants who went through the program in its first two years.

But the large number of dropouts and no-shows has led judges, researchers and treatment providers to complain that voters undoubtedly expected more for their money.

Wanna stay out of jail? Either do drugs or don't do drugs. The outcome is the same.