Bay Area Reporter
October 30, 2008

There’s another initiative on the ballot besides Prop 8 that would have an impact on the LGBT community - Proposition 5, the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act. It will provide drug treatment for youth, improve and expand treatment for nonviolent offenders, and offer common-sense solutions to California’s grave prison overcrowding crisis. Prop 5 will divert nonviolent offenders into treatment and other services based on their needs, such as education, vocational training, family counseling, housing assistance, and mental health treatment. These services will continue after a person is released from prison to help their transition back to society. Lastly, Prop 5 will reduce the penalties for simple marijuana possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction offense, sparing thousands of Californians from the burden of a criminal conviction. Prop 5, unlike most other measures on the ballot, will cut billions in costs from the state budget, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Prop 5 will bring additional resources to San Francisco to make drug treatment available to members of the LGBT community arrested because of methamphetamine and other substance use. San Francisco is on the cutting edge of providing harm reduction-based services to gay/bisexual men using methamphetamine, and Prop 5 will create new resources that can be used to expand culturally appropriate services for LGBT individuals, including LGBT young people.

In addition, people with HIV in the criminal justice system will have access to more appropriate services through Prop 5. Our prison system is not a healthy place for anyone to be, especially not for people with a health problem such as addiction. Prop 5 will give more people with drug problems the help that they need to get into recovery and turn their lives around. That will make all of us safer.

Help us do the right thing for members of the LGBT community and people living with HIV/AIDS caught up in the criminal justice system because of their drug use and get them the drug treatment they need. Both the Harvey Milk and Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic clubs endorsed Prop 5, along with the HIV/AIDS Provider Network, the National Working Positive Coalition, and the AIDS Emergency Fund. Please join us in voting yes on Prop 5 when you vote no on Prop 8.

Laura Thomas, Drug Policy Alliance

Mike Smith, AIDS Emergency Fund