Critics call the measure ill conceived and dangerous to public safety.
But supporters say the initiative provides an alternative to the failed policy of imprisoning drug addicts. Gretchen Burns Bergman has two sons, both of whom were arrested for heroin possession. The younger one was allowed to go through three months of court-supervised treatment, in lieu of jail. But her older son wasn t given that option, and was shipped off to Donavan State prison. His drug addiction actually got worse.