Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice   CENTER ON JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PRESS RELEASE
www.cjcj.org  
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 54 Dore Street, San Francisco, CA 94103Tel: (415) 621-5661 | Fax: (415) 621-5466

For Immediate Release: November 2002

Drug Use and Justice: An Examination of California Drug Policy Enforcement

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CONTACT: Daniel Macallair
E-mail: [dmacallair@cjcj.org]
Tel: (415) 621-5661 x310

CALIFORNIA REMAINS ABOVE NATIONAL AVERAGE IN DRUG OFFENDER IMPRISONMENT, NEW STUDY SHOWS.

STATE'S HARSH POLICIES INEFFECTIVE IN CURBING DRUG USE OR CRIME. PROP 36 EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING PRISON ADMITS FOR USERS. WIDE DISPARITIES CONTINUE IN COUNTY ENFORCEMENT POLICIES.

San Francisco, CA: An update to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice study entitled Drug Use and Justice 2002: An Examination of California Drug Policy Enforcement reveals that California continues to lead the nation in drug offender imprisonment. The study also reveals that California counties that most vigorously pursued harsh enforcement strategies did not experience greater declines in drug use or crime. The major findings include: The study is the most comprehensive analysis yet completed on California drug policy enforcement and imprisonment. The analysis includes a comparison of California's 12 largest counties that account for over three-fourths of the state's population (individual county analysis is provided in the study). According to study co-author, Daniel Macallair, "the findings of our 2002 update tell us that while trends for the arrest and imprisonment of drug possession offenders has decreased, the findings cast serious doubt on prison advocate claims that strict and harsh drug enforcement is effective crime control policy."

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