California’s new ‘war on drugs’: thousands arrested, few get treatment, data shows

California’s new ‘war on drugs’: thousands arrested, few get treatment, data shows

Exclusive: Drug users face felonies and prison under Prop 36, with analysis showing racial disparities and little help California prosecutors have filed nearly 20,000 drug possession felony cases under a tough-on-crime measure passed in 2024. But despite promises to get people into services, the vast majority of those arrested have not received drug treatment, state data reveals. Proposition 36, a state ballot measure, enacted harsher penalties for minor theft and drug offenses, with proponen...

By Sam Levin in Los Angeles