Pubdate: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 Source: Auburn Journal (CA) Copyright: 2000 Auburn Journal Contact: 1030 High St., Auburn, CA 95603 Website: http://www.auburnjournal.com/ CALIFORNIA VOTERS TO EYE TREATMENT Are harsh sentences for all drug offenders wise? Voters in at least two states will decide that this fall, even as Congress and many state legislatures debate the issue. Billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who bankrolled successful ballot drives for legalizing medical marijuana, is financing the latest initiatives. In California and Massachusetts, voters are being asked to create new laws that would require the option of treatment alternatives, not mandatory sentences. "What we're trying to do is restore a measure of the kind of discretion and judgment that judges used to have ... to render a just result, not just a harsh result," said Carl Valvo of Massachusetts. If voters agree, and advocates claim polls show they will, more alternatives will spread across the country, said Ethan Nadelmann. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk