Pubdate: Thu, 28 Aug 2008
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2008 Los Angeles Times
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/bc7El3Yo
Website: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Michael Rothfeld, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Cited: No on Proposition 5 http://www.noonproposition5.com/
Cited: Yes on Proposition 5 http://www.prop5yes.com/
Cited: Proposition 36 http://www.prop36.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prop36.htm (Substance Abuse and Crime 
Prevention Act)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)

MARTIN SHEEN OPPOSING DRUG REHAB INITIATIVE

The Actor, Who Like His Son Has Battled Substance Abuse, Is 
Co-Chairing an Effort Against Prop. 5, Which Would Expand 
Court-Sanctioned Treatment for Addicts Instead of Jail Time.

SACRAMENTO -- Martin Sheen, the politically liberal actor who has 
advocated a tough-love approach to drug addiction, is teaming up with 
California law-and-order groups to lead the charge against an 
initiative that would increase funding for rehabilitation programs.

The No on Proposition 5 Campaign announced Wednesday that Sheen would 
serve as its co-chairman and as the most prominent figure in the 
battle against the November ballot measure. The opponents said the 
initiative is too soft on addicts because it would expand the pool of 
offenders who could be diverted from serving jail or prison time by 
undergoing treatment.

Sheen, in publicly describing his battles with alcoholism and efforts 
to help his son, actor Charlie Sheen, to stop abusing drugs, has said 
the threat of jail time by a judge is needed to force addicts to 
commit to recovery.

"Fighting drug addiction is very close to my heart," Sheen, who was 
not available for an interview, said in a statement released by the 
campaign."I believe in rehabilitation and not incarceration. But 
successful rehabilitation needs accountability and so often demands 
direct intervention in the life of someone who is addicted to drugs."

Charlie Sheen, who overdosed on drugs in 1998, once described walking 
into an intervention by family members to get him into 
rehabilitation. And Martin Sheen has said that long ago, he landed in 
jail several times for being drunk and disorderly.

Eight years ago, Martin Sheen opposed Proposition 36, a precursor to 
the November initiative that was approved by 61% of voters, creating 
programs to divert offenders from incarceration into treatment.

"He is a person who has personally struggled with addiction and it's 
unfortunate," said Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, the manager of the Yes on 
Proposition 5 campaign.

"But last I checked, he was an actor, not a policy expert, and I 
think that although his personal experiences need to be respected, 
they do not define good policy."

The main sponsor of the measure is the Drug Policy Alliance Network, 
which opposes punitive drug laws and also championed Proposition 36. 
Dooley-Sammuli said the earlier initiative had saved the state $1.5 
billion, mostly in incarceration costs, without increasing crime but 
that it remains underfunded.

Proposition 5 would allocate $610 million in state funds through 
mid-2010 and increase funding gradually thereafter, to expand 
treatment opportunities, change the way offenders are diverted into 
programs and establish a juvenile treatment program. The costs could 
rise to $1 billion annually, according to an analysis by the state 
Legislative Analyst's Office, which said the measure could also save 
an equal amount by reducing the prison and parole populations.

The initiative would allow prison inmates to earn more time off their 
sentences for participating in rehabilitation. It would shorten 
parole terms for some nonviolent offenders but lengthen them for some 
violent offenders. It would reduce penalties for possession of a 
small amount of marijuana.

Although proponents say the measure also would improve accountability 
of offenders, foes -- including Los Angeles County's Dist. Atty. 
Steve Cooley, Sheriff Lee Baca and the Board of Supervisors -- say it 
would do the opposite.

Stephen Manley, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge who 
supervises offenders in drug court, knows Martin Sheen, who he said 
has been a big supporter of the drug court movement.

Manley said the initiative allows offenders too many second chances 
without consequences.

Sheen, he said, understands that "the earlier you intervene and 
coerce change, the more likely you are to have the offender 
successfully complete treatment." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake