Sacramento, CA — Today marks one year since Proposition 36 went into effect in California. Marketed as the “Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act,” the measure was backed by major retailers—including Target, Walmart, and Home Depot—as well as the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and the California District Attorneys Association. Proponents promised accountability, public safety, and widespread access to treatment.

One year later, the results tell a different story. A new report from the Vera Institute of Justice on the implementation of Prop 36 in Los Angeles, and preliminary data analysis from the Center on Criminal Justice, Californians for Safety and Justice, and researchers at UC Berkeley, both reveal Prop 36 is failing its promises across the state.

Instead of delivering mass treatment, implementation data show increased arrests, longer sentences, deep racial disparities, and growing jail and prison populations across the state. In Los Angeles, Prop 36 is projected to cost the county nearly $80 million this year, and hundreds of millions of dollars next year – while thousands more Angelenos, disproportionately older and Black people, face incarceration they would otherwise have avoided, instead of getting the treatment California was promised.

Key findings from the first year of implementation include:

• Minimal treatment, mounting sentences. Data from the Judicial Council show that just 771 people have been ordered into treatment under Prop 36 out of 8,895 reported cases. The number of people who actually had treatment available is almost certainly lower, and access to quality, long-term care remains extremely limited.
• Racist consequences. Prop 36 enforcement has disproportionately harmed Black Californians, who are being targeted, arrested, detained, and charged at far higher rates than white people.
• Justice by geography. Prop 36 is being applied unevenly across counties, creating vastly different outcomes based solely on where someone lives.
• Growing jail and prison populations. The number of people in jail and prison in California has steadily increased since Prop 36 took effect.
• Severe consequences for immigrants. Even when framed as treatment-mandated, Prop 36 drug felonies remain convictions for immigration purposes. These convictions carry some of the harshest penalties under federal immigration law, fueling family separation, detention, and deportation—even for people who never spend a single day in jail.

To speak further with any of the experts quoted below on Prop 36, or a public defenders office in your county, contact Alyssa Kress, alyssa@prosecutorsalliance.org.

“Prop 36 is straining our community and state budgets in a time of unprecedented financial uncertainty, without improving community safety or public health,” said Claire Simonich, associate director of Vera California, a local initiative of the Vera Institute of Justice. “Prop 36 is exacerbating the very public health and safety problems it purported to address, removing funding from proven, effective programs and services like substance use and behavioral treatment and supportive housing. As California faces tough financial choices, it must invest in solutions that work — healthcare, services, and treatment — not just more punishment and mass incarceration.”

“Prop 36 is eroding safety and justice in California,” said Maureen Washburn, senior policy manager for the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. “Over the past year, it has siphoned tens of millions from effective Prop 47 treatment programs, created stark differences across county justice systems, deepened racial disparities, and failed to make good on its central promise — getting people into treatment.”

“Prop 36 is taking us backwards — cycling people through jails instead of getting them into treatment,” said Cristine Soto DeBerry, executive director of the Prosecutors Alliance. “It’s yet another reminder that real safety comes from policies that actually invest in our communities, address root causes, and create meaningful second chances.”

“Proponents of Proposition 36 said the measure would result in millions of Californians finally getting the treatment they desperately need. They lied,” said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice. “The truth is, Proposition 36 prioritized incarceration over access to treatment, and diverted funding away from the programs we rely on, leaving courts overwhelmed, behavioral health systems under-resourced, and vulnerable people trapped in a cycle of incarceration instead of care.”

“California has a large, proud immigrant population — it is home to more immigrants than any other state. Prop 36 is harming our communities and fueling the jail-to-ICE detention and deportation pipeline,” said Merle Kahn, senior contract attorney for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. “All Prop 36 adjudications, even those that are not supposed to be convictions, are convictions under federal immigration law. Green card holders and other noncitizens who are charged with Prop 36 crimes are being placed in deportation proceedings, often subject to mandatory detention and mandatory deportation. This is true regardless of the person’s ties to the U.S., how long they have been living here, or the harm to their families. Individual circumstances often cannot even be considered by the immigration authorities if they are charged with a Prop 36 crime. Families are being torn apart, employers are losing valued employees, and entire communities are being destroyed by Prop 36.”