[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Margaret Dooley-Sammuli
Drug Policy Alliance

We are thrilled to inform Californians that the Drug Policy Alliance Network has filed a ballot measure that would bring about the biggest prison/sentencing reform in American history.

The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA) would provide $460 million each year to fund effective, individualized drug treatment and rehabilitation for tens of thousands of people arrested for nonviolent offenses. NORA also requires the prison system to make a major commitment to rehabilitation programs for people inside and outside the prisons. By stabilizing funding for, and expanding access to, treatment and rehabilitative services, NORA will dramatically reduce the prison population and save $1 billion annually, while allowing our criminal justice system to focus on public safety, not punishing nonviolent drug users. We believe that the changes proposed in the initiative could provide a model for reform nationally.