California Proposition 5: Rehab Instead of Prison for Nonviolent Drug Crimes – YES

Prop 5 is what is needed. I have known many people who have been addicted and have ended up in jail....I don't know of any of the people I know that have been able to become clean and sober due to their sentence. Most have become very crafty and have found ways to do drugs while confined.
Prop 5, rehab, is the answer.It is an education and a way of living without drugs and drink, etc.I do know people who have been in rehab and have turned their lives around. REHAB is the way to address their addictions.

I think the overriding theme of this proposition is good intentions but very poor execution. I have a lot of problems with this proposition, but my biggest problem is the distinction between drug dealers and drug users. I completely agree with helping those who are addicted find a more productive solution than arrest. However, when someone arrested with two pounds of methamphetamine is treated just like an addict it makes me sick. Dealers are poisoning our society and enabling the habits of addicts. Dealers must be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Prop 5 is just another expensive tentacle of the state's failed War on Drugs. Our real drug problem is the sense of entitelment of a meddlesome majority who believe they have a right to force other people to be sober. People only quit drugs when they want to quit. "Rehab" will not and can not work because 1) there is no effective treatment; 2) coerced treatment doesn't work; 3) there is no confidentiality in these programs; and 4)"rehab" misdiagnoses the problem--which is one of government persecution, not addiction. This will not prevent one person from going to prison. Prisons are like like closets; the more you have, they more you try to cram into them. Any people so stupid to spend $50 billion a year just to break and destroy other people has a worse problem than the worst crack addict. So, screw you and your drug laws. Nobody wants what you are smoking, least of all your coercive do-gooder "help."

Prop. 5 should be defeated. The money proposed for this proposition should be used to build more jails and prisions to house these criminals. These are drug addicts that have elected to use hard drugs and steel from the general public to feed their addiction. The L.A. Times article (10/2/08) states that under this prop. these thieves could steel cars and have their record sealed after completing drug treatment. As the article also states this is nothing more than a get out of jail free card.
In the past two years I have had close to $30,000.00 in property stolen from me on two seperate occasions. One from my warehouse and one from my home. I know for fact that it was junkies and speed freaks that stole from me. I even told the police my suspitions and they did nothing. I don't feel sorry for these people, they know what they are doing and should be removed from society until they can prove they are ready to return to society and not use drugs. If they are caught again then they should be put in jail for life. These are bad people that exist to do drugs and steel from hard working people to pay for their drugs.
More prisons not treatment programs.

To Zuma,
I believe the "meddlesome majority's sense of entitlement" stems from the fact that we do not live as individuals in a vacuum. I think you would be hard pressed to go to a high narcotics area and tell me that there is a good quality of life there. Unfortunately, if an individual becomes an addict, they affect all of those around them as well, which gives society the right to take away their freedom.
I work in a large city in a high narcotics neighborhood as a social worker. A neighborhood where crack and heroin are tolerated is a lot different than a neighborhood where they are not. In the former, there is a pervasive culture of fear, poverty, and violence. In the latter, kids can play in the streets and people enjoy true freedom.
Zuma, you sound intelligent, and your argument (save the profanity) has a certain amount of logic to it. However, I would suggest you spend some time in a neighborhood that has been taken over by dealers and addicts and see what kind of reality that creates for everyone in the neighborhood, even those that do not choose to use drugs.

I think that this prop 5 is a good thing. I think that a lot of people misunderstand what it means though. If a addict goes out and steals cars or ends up murdering someone then that person should end up going to jail and getting the punishment they deserve but on the other hand if someone is using drugs and they get charged with something that is "petty theft" then why not try and help these people and give them treatment and a chance at life. By using drugs the only person they are hurting is themselves for the main part. Our jails are so overcrowded. I'd rather see a murderer go to jail for what they did or a rapist then a drug addict that cant help the fact that he or she has the disease of addiction.. Also theres a big difference between drug addicts and drug dealers. Most drug dealers dont even do drugs themselves. I hope this prop passes I think it would make a big change.

I think that this prop 5 is a good thing. I think that a lot of people misunderstand what it means though. If a addict goes out and steals cars or ends up murdering someone then that person should end up going to jail and getting the punishment they deserve but on the other hand if someone is using drugs and they get charged with something that is "petty theft" then why not try and help these people and give them treatment and a chance at life. Rehab Treatment centers are a very tough thing to go to. Also by using drugs the only person they are hurting is themselves for the main part. Our jails are so overcrowded. I'd rather see a murderer go to jail for what they did or a rapist then a drug addict that cant help the fact that he or she has the disease of addiction.. Also theres a big difference between drug addicts and drug dealers. Most drug dealers dont even do drugs themselves. I hope this prop passes I think it would make a big change.

To Bob on Oct. 2:

"The U.S. has become the most imprisoned nation in world history with 2.2 million people serving at least one year in a state or federal institution. China, which boasts of having one of the world's most notoriously intolerant government, holds 500,000 fewer prisoners than the U.S. with four times the population." - Idaho Observer, December 4, 2004

The war on drugs exists for one reason: to line the pockets of the rich. As with all things, if we just follow the money, the truth will be revealed.

The prison industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the US. Ten years ago, there were only 5 private prisons in the US. with a population of 2000 inmates. In 2008, there are 100, with a population of 62,000. And the prison population is expected to grow to 350,000 in the next few years. Why is this?

Cheap labor = bigger profits

Prison labor is being contracted out to corporations. The prison workforce is cheap and reliable. Prison workers don't call in sick or take vacation. They don't need healthcare or other benefits. Most are paid less than $1/hour. The hourly wage is 20 cents to $1.45 per hour. Because big business profits from this labor,they lobby for longer sentences.

Some corporations using prison labor:
Chevron
Motorola
Nike
Dell Computers
Microsoft
Eddie Bauer
Victoria's Secret
Honda
Allstate
Merrill Lynch
Shearson Lehman
Parke-Davis
Upjohn

Now you might say "It's no big deal. Prisoners should work." And I would have to agree. However, what many people fail to realize is that every job that goes to a prisoner is a job taken away from a non-prisoner. That's right.

In 2001, U.S. Technologies sold its electronics plant in Austin, Texas, leaving its 150 workers unemployed. Six week later, the electronics plant reopened in a nearby prison. There are many, many stories just like that, too.

Now I want to direct your attention to the two pharma companies on the list. Here are just some of the ways these companies harm the people of the U.S:

1. Marketing harmful prescription drugs
2. Charging exorbitant prices for their products
3. Polluting the environment with their manufacturing operations
4. Lobbying not only against things like measures aimed at containing prices, like allowing the import of drugs from companies that cap prescription drug prices, but also against universal healthcare because they do not want people to be well for they can make more money by selling treatments for illnesses, many caused by them. (See the first two items above.)

We have seen repeatedly that our government does not act with our best interests in mind. We the people must learn to recognize these sorts of injustices and we must work together to reduce the harm being caused to all of us. Vote Yes on Prop 5!

I am an EX drug user and I am also an EX drug dealer. I am now in the Prop 36 program. I attend 3 NA/AA meetings per week. I have a good job, my own place, renewed relationships with my family. I pay my bills ON TIME, I work for everything that I have today. I take my dog swimming today. I have a wonderful relationship with my Fiance. I am early to all my appointments. I NEVER miss work. I NEVER miss my Prop 36 class. I NEVER steal (by the way this is how "steal" is spelled). WHY? BECAUSE SOMEONE GAVE ME A CHANCE TO GET HELP, THAT'S WHY? SOMEONE BELIEVED IN ME. ANY QUESTIONS? If you've never been there, don't throw stones. Someone's life could be at the mercy of that stone. Addiction is a VERY crafty disease. Please don't down grade a problem you know NOTHING about. IT'S BRUTAL. It is not prejudice either. Someone in YOUR family could be suffering and you might not even know it. People who are thrown in prison for drugs only become bigger Monsters due to their resentments. VOTE YES ON PROP 5! Signed....A worthy EX DRUG ADDICT

To Zuma: You are in no position to make a judgement on this because you have been emotionally affected by it. You CAN NOT separate your emotions from your rationale. You are letting your feelings take over a simple rational solution. Why do drug addicts steal? So they can sell the loot and get money to buy more drugs! It's that simple! Also lets be analytical here. Stealing is a different crime from getting caught with an 8 ball of cocaine. If a drug addict gets caught committing other crimes to support his habit then that's different. Putting people in jail just because of their habits is NOT the solution! They need help...REHAB! I would suggest reading the post regarding the prison industry. MONEY is the ROOT OF ALL EVIL...It really is. It's what drives the prison industry, it's the reason why drug addicts steal! I bet you own a couple of Victoria's Secret undergarments huh? How do you feel knowing that a drug addict potentially made your bra or underwear? How about your cool Nike shoes or Dell computer? That's just sad...Do you realize how much money the State would SAVE if it does this? Lets be realistic here...IT'S A NO BRAINER! YES ON 5!

Personalized drug rehabs treatments plan specifically tailored to each individual's needs and goals for long-term success. It is for the patients or abusers who essentially deserve the personalized drug treatment. This will consists better before and after care separate accommodation and 24 hour supervision.
http://www.drugrehabscenters.com/

Drug treatments rehabs include therapy and are able to spend the time working with the teens to delve deep into the causes of the emotional and behavioral problems the trouble teen may have. There are many treatments centers available in USA and provide the best treatments for drug addicted people.

http://www.edrugrehabs.com/

Drug or alcohol addicted person is very irresponsible. Sharing needles, non protected relation with people that they don't know, getting disease the individual will suffer for the rest of his life. Also it can bring the individual in to criminal activities that will bring him to spend part of his life in prison as a large percentage of the crimes are directly related to substance abuse. Also it can mean the addicted individual will die due to his life style or his direct use of Drugs. They do not see the "world" as it is. The goal of the intervention is for the person to accept the reality of their substance addiction and to seek the right help. They would to look at those around them as to measure of how right or wrong their behaviors are. People that surround themselves with persons who are caught up in the grasp of substance addiction are not able to see the drastic lengths that their own dependence has come to. Their using "friends" are a duplicate of themselves, leading them to believe that their own actions are acceptable cause the environment accept them. You should never get in to a drugs or alcohol intervention without the full knowledge of what to do. Also get the advice and help of a professional counselor.
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Jack005
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In my experience knowing drug addicts and talking to them, there are some addicts who are good people and drugs will bring out the worst in them, but then there are those who are already bad, have a flawed personality such as being narcissistic, and for these people, drugs allow a bad person to become even worse..a monster. These people may very well steal and con people for money regardless of their addiction to hard drugs. But its hard to realize this because many of them are drawn to drugs, and use their addition as an excuse. And its easy to feel sorry for them. These people will steal and steal without feeling bad about it, while other addicts won't be able to continue hurting others without their guilt stopping them eventually. If addicts who steal cars can get out of any jail time, how will the justice system differentiate between addicts who can rehabilitate and those who are born psychopaths? I am all for prop 5, my only concern is those who are already anti-social at their core, since many sociopaths also abuse drugs. I would love to hear others views on this who have abused drugs or know addicts.

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