There are problems with forcing people to go into drug treatment programs, but it's still better than forcing them into prison. The following article, by Michael. R. Edelstein, Ph.D., published in the LPC Monthly September 2000 issue expresses my views. It is unconscionable to force the rest into treatment. No evidence exists that government-coerced treatment works.
Studies have shown positive effects of treatment involve voluntary populations.
Prop 36 is a full employment bill for addiction counselors. The professional success of these counselors should be a function of consumer satisfaction, not of government mandate. Most individuals who have overcome drug problems have succeeded on their own, without the help of treatment. It is wrong to finance drug treatment by taxing people who would otherwise have used this money to help their own families, rather than for this lower priority in their personal budget. The history of alcohol prohibition in the U.S. demonstrates that drug-related crime results from drug prohibition, not from the lack of forced treatment.