(SAN FRANCISCO, Calif) – Signaling that they have had enough with crime,  more than 70% of Californians voted to pass Proposition 36, which permits felony charges for people convicted of retail theft or drug crimes.

Under Prop 36, organized thefts by three or more people, nicknamed “smash and grabs,” as well as third convictions of drug possession or theft under $950, can be charged as felonies.

If the crime was committed by a person addicted to drugs, judges at sentencing may offer the individual the choice between going to prison or getting mandated drug treatment and having the felony charge expunged. 

“What used to be petty crime is not petty anymore,” said Anna, a mom of two in San Francisco, who explained why she voted yes on Prop 36. “It’s all day every day, every drugstore. My elderly parents can’t even walk to their drugstore anymore. It has to stop.”

Prop 36 essentially is codifying drug court said Christina Berg, former Alameda County Deputy DA and proponent of drug courts. “Alameda’s drug court was very successful and had a very, very low recidivism rate” but eventually closed after Prop 47 passed in 2014 which reduced some felonies to misdemeanors.

Drug deaths have roughly increased four-fold since 2002. San Francisco made headlines for its drug overdoses, shuttered downtown stores, and homeless encampments that accelerated after the emergence of fentanyl in 2018.  

Tom Wolf, a recovery advocate and formerly homeless addict who credits mandated drug treatment with saving his life, said Prop 36 will help others get sober, “because while all the shoplifting was happening, you saw an explosion in the amount of people using and overdosing on drugs.”  

One of the major criticisms of the proposition was that it mandates treatment programs without specifically funding them. 

“People are going to see that it’s not effective,” says a former Contra Costa County deputy public defender, who asked to be unnamed. “It provides no money for treatment or programming whatsoever. There are 22 counties in the state where treatment is not even an option.”