Some will say Proposition 36, which calls for the treatment instead of incarceration regime approved by 61 percent of California voters in 2000, has failed. They will say folks dropped out, didn't complete treatment, never showed up and that represents failure.

In defense of the proposition, I've seen the consequences for people who failed. Those who couldn't or wouldn't complete treatment went to jail or were mandated into residential treatment programs where oversight was more intensive. They did not just slip through the cracks and escape consequences.

[continues 172 words]