Can mandating treatment for drug and theft related offenses make communities safer?
In November 2024, a bipartisan ballot measure was overwhelmingly passed by California voters with strong support from Attorney Ho. Proposition 36, the “Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act,” fundamentally reshapes California’s legal landscape regarding drug and theft crimes.
Join the DSP for a discussion with Attorney Ho to learn more about how Sacramento County is leveraging Prop. 36 to address addiction and theft through a new approach to prosecution and sentencing with treatment-mandated sentencing for repeat offenders.
Emphasizing treatment while simultaneously leveraging new provisions and increased penalties as deterrents, Prop. 36 adds back tools to treat substance use disorders and mental illness to keep people out of jail, alive and off the streets, while making neighborhoods safer.
Thursday, June 12
- Doors: 3:30
- Program: 4:00 – 5:00
Ticket on Sale Now
- DSP Members: $25
- Non-Members: $40
Ticket includes lights bites + drinks.
Thank you to our partner, Journal of Business.
Sponsorship opportunities available. Contact info@downtownspokane.org
What does Prop. 36 do?
Prop. 36 represents a common solution to a common problem around the state: public safety. Prop. 36 allows certain, repeat crimes to be charged as either felonies or misdemeanors, depending on various factors: 1) possession of a hard drug (including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, phencyclidine, and their analogs) with two prior drug-related convictions, and 2) petty theft or shoplifting with two prior theft-related convictions. The new law allows for the aggregation of stolen property value from multiple thefts, meaning that multiple smaller thefts can be combined to determine if the overall value meets the felony threshold. Offenders can opt for drug treatment to avoid jail or prison time, and if they complete treatment, they do not suffer a conviction for the offense. Additionally, Prop. 36 also significantly increases penalties for fentanyl trafficking, especially large-scale operations, and imposes stricter sentences for drug dealing involving firearms.
Prop. 36 partially reversed a different initiative voters approved a decade ago (Prop. 47), which reduced penalties for certain lower-level drug and petty theft offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. While the initiative, was intended to develop new public safety strategies and reduce incarceration, prosecutors and law enforcement shared the sentencing reforms created a revolving door for people to repeatedly commit crimes without being held accountable.
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