Opinion: It’s past time to fulfill Prop. 36 and end cycles of addiction and crime

In 2024 Californians made it clear we’d had enough.

Enough of unchecked suffering on our streets. Enough of open-air fentanyl markets hollowing out our cities. And enough of the “theft tax” we were paying at the checkout counter to offset the cost of those who were stealing to support a drug habit.

Nearly 70% of Californians supported Proposition 36 — not because they wanted to return to an era of mass incarceration, but rather because they knew we needed to start the era of mass treatment. 

I supported and helped lead the effort to pass Prop. 36, despite the objections of many in my own party. I did it because I see the human cost of homelessness, retail theft and addiction every day as a big city mayor.

I did it because as a Democrat, I simply don’t believe it is compassionate or just to turn a blind eye to preventable death on our streets, or repeated acts of crime in our neighborhoods. And I did it because as a family member of someone who spent years struggling on the streets with addiction, I know first-hand that without intervention and accountability, there can be little hope of recovery or progress.

The seeds of Prop. 36 were planted a decade earlier. In 2014, voters approved Prop. 47 to reduce incarceration for non-violent offenses, but also removed key tools that we had used to require treatment for repeat drug offenders and break cycles of addiction and crime. 

The results were dramatic. Homelessness surged in California, even as it dropped in other states. More than half our unsheltered population reported substance abuse problems.   Participation in drug diversion programs plummeted, overdoses more than doubled and became the leading cause of death for Californians under 45. Video of rampant retail theft, often by those struggling with addiction, became a mainstay on the evening news.

And let’s be clear. These images of failure helped elect Donald Trump, and he has used them in his war on California values ever since.

Voters approved Prop. 36 to change that paradigm and fix this mess. To restore the tools that our judges need to get more people into treatment. And to connect the principles of treatment and accountability that are essential to recovery. 

Yet Sacramento refuses to fully fund and implement this critical reform. I will.

California currently spends roughly $50,000 per year on each chronically homeless individual in our state, without delivering significantly better outcomes.

We need to audit that spending to root out the waste, duplication and inefficiencies. Together with the recently voter-approved Proposition 1 funds that are already being used to expand mental health services across our state, this can fund building out our current treatment capacity by 10,000 beds by 2030. It will save lives and won’t require a dime of tax increases.

Second, we need to integrate a network of full wraparound case management services and community providers in every county, connected to each individual through every step of recovery. San Diego is already doing this, routing over 96% of eligible defendants into proven treatment pathways. Their model should be expanded statewide.

We also need to require counties to spend a share of their existing homeless services funds on emergency interim housing, and service delivery targeted at the most pressing needs of those who have been falling through the cracks. We’re already doing this in San Jose, and it’s getting our unsheltered neighbors indoors at a faster pace than any other place on the west coast.

Finally, we need to create uniformity and accountability in how our courts and communities implement Prop. 36. We need statewide standards to ensure judges consistently apply compliance and treatment mandates, instead of allowing a 58-county patchwork that doesn’t always align with our shared goals. We should require courts to partner with behavioral health and external service providers to ensure that offenders are getting the full spectrum of services needed to support recovery. And we must ensure courts and service providers are monitoring program completion rates so we can hold repeat offenders accountable for changing behavior.   

Californians voted to end the era of failure on homelessness, addiction and crime. They want a system that balances compassion with accountability and delivers real results.  

Prop. 36 can do just that. It gives the state the tools to connect people to treatment, strengthen accountability, and stop abandoning our most vulnerable neighbors to the streets. If we build treatment capacity, demand follow-through, and hold every level of government accountable, we can finally deliver on the promise of Prop. 36 and build a safer, healthier California in the bargain.

Matt Mahan is the mayor of San Jose, northern California’s largest city, and is a Democratic candidate for Governor.  Learn more at mahanforcalifornia.com/treatment.

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