"Opponents of Proposition 200 said this was a 'pro-drug' initiative. As it turns out, the Drug Medicalization Act is doing more to reduce drug use and crime than any other state program--and saving taxpayer dollars at the same time," said Arizona Appellate Court Judge Rudy Gerber.

Approved by over two-thirds of Arizona voters in November 1996 and thunderously re-approved in 1998, the Act requires that non-violent drug users charged with possession receive mandatory probation and treatment instead of prison sentences. The Act creates a Drug Treatment and Education Fund which diverts liquor taxes to fund drug programs. The Supreme Court report, required by law to evaluate Prop 200, found the outcomes "very favorable"--and in some areas "remarkable." Results include:

* Cost savings to Arizona taxpayers of over $2.56 million.
* 2,622 offenders diverted into treatment rather than prison.
* 77.5% of probationers tested drug-free after program completion.

"All of these factors are resulting in safer communities and more substance-abusing probationers in recovery," concludes the report. "This report firmly supports a new paradigm of drug control for the nation," says Norman Helber, Chief Adult Probation Officer for Arizona's (ultra-ULTRA-conservative) Maricopa County.