to treatment cites There's a movement a foot that started with California prop 36. It proposed sending people with drug use/possession charges to treatment instead of prison. The first state to do this was Arizona.
This movement isn't without its critics
Illegal drugs cause crime and violence
"The prison problem reflects our drug-soaked society. In 1997, nearly three-quarters of all arrestees tested in 35 cities nationwide had drugs in their system at the time of arrest."(1)
"Finally, the notion that drug users harm only themselves is misguided. Each year, drug abuse costs our society more than $110 billion in the form of higher insurance rates and the suffering (human and fiscal) of drug crimes. Drug users kill and injure countless innocent people in on-the-job and drugged-driving accidents. A National Transportation Safety Board study of 182 fatal truck accidents revealed that 28.9 percent of the drivers had used marijuana, cocaine and/or illegal stimulants--compared with just 12.5 percent for alcohol. Columbia University reports that adult substance abuse exacerbates seven of every 10 child abuse or neglect cases. Drug users commit a disproportionate share of the crime in this nation."(2)
"Over half of criminal behavior nationally is committed by individuals under the influence of drugs, according to studies by the National Institute of Justice. And 80 percent of the men and women behind bars are addicted. People who live in households where drugs are used are 11 times as likely to be killed as those living in drug-free households. Drug abuse in a home increases a woman's risk of being killed by a close relative by 28 times. And the average individual with severe addiction commits nearly 63 crimes a year."(3)
The facts....
A few facts on drugs (including alcohol) and violence.
People in state prison on charges of violence against intimates(4)
No drinking or drugs 44.6%
Drinking only 31.1
Using drugs only 3.9
Drinking and drugs 20.4
Victims of violent crime identified there assailant was on(5)
Alcohol only 20%
Alcohol and drugs about 5%
Drugs only about 5%
No drugs or alcohol just under 40%
Don't know 30%
Various research has said more than 30% of inmates in a national survey admitted to being "under the influence" of alcohol at the time of their offenses; an additional 16% were under the influence of both alcohol and other drugs. Other research suggests an even stronger connection between alcohol and violent crime, with up to two thirds of violent offenders having committed their crimes while intoxicated (Collins 1981, 1986; Collins and Schlenger 1988; Mayfield 1976; Pernanen 1991; Roslund and Larson 1979).(6)
Youth concerns:
During the Prop 36 campaign it was said
"Drug-using teens are three times more likely to commit suicide than their non-using peers." "Seventy-five percent of teenage runaways are substance abusers."
Fact..
The United States has the highest youth suicide rate among industrialized nations. Almost twice that of our closest "competitor" Finland (7)
United States also has the tougher drug policy than many of the other industrialized countries. Maybe these other countries are more concern with treating a condition than locking people up.
What about bullying as a cause of youth dysfunction?
One in ten school children are being bullied weekly. Symptoms of bullying include depression in primary school children, anxiety, a fear of going to school, low self esteem. People who are bullied are found to be more likely to wet there bed, have difficulty sleeping, have headaches and abdominal pain "Depression and severe suicidal ideation are strongly linked to being bullied or to acting as a bully. Even an infrequent involvement in bulling (being bullied or being a bully) increases the likelihood of severe suicidal ideation in dependent of depression." People who are bullied can be more introverted, less assertive and over involved in their families. Being a bully has been associated with juvenile delinquency, alcohol misuse, violence in the adulthood and criminal behavior.(8)
Killing by youth who showed bullying tendencies rose 124 percent from 1986 to 1991. A survey of 3 midwestern schools showed that of a third of victims of bullying wanted a transfer to another school, fifteen percent considered suicide. 69 percent of the bullies reported they had been bullied too.(9)
Are loose drug laws the cause of Juvenile delinquency? Could there be an " underlying syndrome" causing drug abuse?
Cigarette smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, precocious sex may be caused by an underlying syndrome because youth who do these things often have other emotional problem related disorders.(10)
Prison issues
"Most arrested drug offenders never go to jail. Of those who do, few are ever treated. Without drug treatment while in prison, most drug offenders quickly return to bad habits, earning them more hard time. In addition, most probation and parole programs are largely ineffective because they are under funded."(11)
"At the state level, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that as of July 1997, 222,100 state inmates were incarcerated for drug offenses. Of these state drug offenders, more than 70 percent were incarcerated for trafficking, as opposed to possession. More than 82 percent of the total state prison drug-offender population had prior criminal histories--23.6 percent of them were violent recidivists."(12)
Facts
(17)In 1997, there were 216,254 drug offenders in state prisons (out of a total State prison population of 1,046,706 that year). Of these, 92,373 were in for possession, 117,926 were in for trafficking, and 5,955 were in for other drug crimes. Only 41.9 percent of State drug offenders were under the influence of drugs at the time of their offense.(13)
The facts
But our prisons are often bastions of drug abuse. Only 13% of prisoners receive my sort of treatment for their drug problem at all, and many of those treatment programs are considered inadequate.(14)
Forcing treatment
"Nonetheless, the criminal-justice system must still play a significant role by using its power -- including the threat of jail time -- to make treatment successful."(15)
"* An increased focus of our criminal justice system on coerced and supervised treatment, not incarceration, of non-violent drug users."(16)
"Drug courts work. They force habitual offenders, often for the first time in their lives, to be accountable for their actions. This approach transforms many former addicts into drug-free, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. Such an accomplishment translates into greater public safety and less drug use. Society as a whole benefits from drug courts. Phoenix can take pride in the conference you are hosting and the model of drug courts offered to the whole country."(17)
"Lesson Two is the need for research on motivating addicts to enter treatment, stay there and continue in aftercare. President George W. Bush's proposed budget increases of 16 percent for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and 11 percent for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism are steps in the right direction but fall far short of the kind of commitment this nation would make if we recognized that we are dealing with the country's No. 1 disease and stopped stigmatizing addicts as modern-day lepers."(18)
The text of proposed new treatment VS incarceration laws only allow for so many offenses. The law I saw said two offenses. Should we forgive one or two "youthful indiscretions"? Many of our elected officials have had one or two.
to treatment cites
Florida Drug Reform initiative
Michigan Drug Reform initiative
Ohio Drug Reform initiative
Proposed text
Back to law information 
War On Drugs, Drug treatment, Incarceration, drug offenders, demand reduction, illegal drugs, California Campaign for New Drug Policies