Santa Barbara judges this week celebrated the fifth anniversary
of Prop 36 – which called for a court-supervised treatment
diversion program for minor drug offenders – by holding graduation
ceremonies in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, where 37 offenders saw
their charges dismissed for successfully completing the program and
paying fines and fees as high as $8,000. Figures from the county’s
Alcohol, Drugs, and Mental Heath Department were more positive,
suggesting that 36 percent of Prop 36 enrollees had graduated;
another 5 percent successfully completed treatment but failed to
pay fines and fees. Meth was the drug of choice for most Santa
Barbara participants; on the South Coast as a whole,
methamphetamine and heroin users were evenly ranked.
