Proposition 5 is the only measure on the ballot this year that will cut costs and improve public safety. It will reduce prison operating costs by $1 billion or more per year and will save another $2.5 billion by avoiding new prison construction.  California spends way too much on drug and alcohol addiction in the wrong ways. Prop 5 cuts costs by safely reducing prison overcrowding over time and by offering treatment and rehabilitation to nonviolent youth and drug offenders. Treatment does cost but it will cost much less than incarceration. Not only that but treatment will be effective at preventing future drug motivated crime because it will teach them how to stay away from drugs. 70% of people released from prison return within three years for violating parole or for committing a new crime. And tax payers spend over $10 billion on our prisons. In prop 5 as soon as the first violation of probation judges can jail participants for a short time, as a sanction and then return them to treatment or remove them entirely from the program.
I think this is a very smart proposition. The inmates who leave jail still return to their old habits because they’re not being taught they’re just getting imprisoned. We can help so many people break their addiction and break the cycle of crime, and at the same time it would be helping us because it makes us sager.  

I've always thought they should send drug addicts to a treatment center not just jail. When they go to jail they come out searching for drugs. They were never taught how to stay sober and dont know how. A treatment center can show them that and show them the beauty of it. We'll be providing ourselves with a much safer community by not getting these addicts in prison but getting them sober for life.

This proposition did not get passed. I'm really mad about that, it lost 60% to 40%. I think if there were more things on TV about it to educate people of how its not "bringing criminals out on the streets" and things like that it could have had a higher chance of passing. And we wouldn't have to keep sending as many people back to jail just a little while after they got out.

Thats very true, there wasn't much informing the public about prop 5, people only knew what they heard and what they heard was that prop 5 would bring criminals out into the streets. No one told them that it would send them to get treated and fixed and have a much higher chance of them never repeating it again than if they were just sent to jail. Maybe they'll put it out again and itll get passed next time. However I think the organization should advertize and promote it more.

I dont think proposition 5 should've been passed. People who do do drugs and deal them could abuse this greatly. They'll think that they could do all they want and if they get caught it wont matter because all they'll end up having to do is go to a nice treatment center for a little while, then they can go back and do it all over again. I agree more criminals will be out in the streets. I think they should make this prop better. Like include jail time for the offensers and then after they have to complete a treatment program as well. That way this prop will be much more affective and at the same time keep the criminals off the streets and prevent them from ever coming back to their criminal activities.

I think they need to sit in jail and spend the time getting punished.  And treatment should ideally be optional.  Treatment isn't going to help anyone unless they truly want to get better.

I think education about drug use and treatment and how it really can help should be mandatory in jail. Some of the people there come from bad communities and families where they dont know all these things. If they're taught about it it could affect some. Even if it helps 1 out of hundred its still good. I think they should serve 3/4 of their sentence and if they show signs that they really want to quit and be off drugs forever then the rest of their sentence should be in a treatment center.

I hope they appeal this proposition and teach more people about how it could help. Not all the bad things that they kept advertising. Like its putting criminals in our streets and stuff like that.