California Civil Rights Coalition

Dear Friends,

Please join me in asking Governor Brown to cut drug war waste in California prisons by reducing the penalty for possession of a small amount of drugs from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Over 9,000 people are currently locked up in state prison and thousands more in county jails for these offenses at a cost to taxpayers of hundreds of millions of dollars per year and with sentences as long as three years. This has to change.

A recent California poll – commissioned by DPA, the ACLU of Northern California and the Ella Baker Center – found that nearly three-quarters (72%) of likely voters support reducing the penalty for simple possession of a small amount of drugs for personal use, including 40% who believe the offense should be considered an infraction, with no imprisonment at all.

This sentencing reform would help preserve scarce dollars for education, health care and social services. And it will mean that California will stop spending unnecessary millions to incarcerate people for lengthy periods at no benefit to public safety.

Help me send this message to the governor – and ask your friends to help, too! Thank you!

The action is online here.

Best,

Stephen