Excluded from the initiative would be anyone with a serious or violent felony conviction, unless the offender remained crime free for five years upon his or her most recent release from custody. The initiative also would not apply to anybody convicted of a misdemeanor that involved threat or physical injury such as in spousal abuse cases, anybody using a firearm while holding or under the influence of drugs and anybody who refuses drug treatment. Anybody caught with drugs after two treatment diversions could only be jailed for 30 days. Fratello acknowledged that drug users pose major crime threats by robbing and stealing to support their habits, but he said that treatment provides a greater potential than incarceration for dealing with the underlying addiction that drives the offenses. If you deal with the addiction, you're talking about eliminating the criminality for a lifetime.
Drug treatment is tough on crime since it deals with the core problem.
They say it will handcuff parole agents from sending some potentially violent offenders back to prison after they are found in possession of drugs or if they test positive. That is horrible, as far as preventing crime. And you can't have just treatment only, with no consequences. It completely absolves drug felons of any accountability for their behavior. Arizona voters passed a similar measure two years ago, but it did not apply to parolees.