On Sept. 17, 2026, CalMatters published an investigation by Marisa Kendall and Cayla Mihalovich into how Prop 36 drug treatment is working in the 15 California counties that file the most Prop. 36 cases. The counties that reported treatment data charged 18,666 "treatment-mandated felony" drug cases in 2025. Defendants chose treatment in 17% of them. Only 57 cases were dismissed after the defendant graduated.
If you or someone in your family was recently charged under Prop. 36, that number matters. The law offers a path to a dismissed charge, but you have to plead guilty or no contest to get on it. For most people who took that path so far, it has not ended in dismissal. This explainer covers how the process works, where it breaks down, and what to ask a defense lawyer before deciding.
What the statewide numbers show
The CalMatters findings match the statewide court data. The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ), in a March 18, 2026 report on Judicial Council data covering December 2024 through January 2026, found:
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17% of felony cases filed under Health and Safety Code 11395 led to placement in treatment.
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0.3% of those cases ended in dismissal after the defendant completed treatment.
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Of people who entered treatment and later left it, about 80% faced judgment and about 20% succeeded.
CJCJ, citing the Judicial Council, also reports that nearly 40,000 Prop. 36 charges were filed in 2025. About 70% were theft charges and 30% were drug charges.
The early numbers were similar. A Judicial Council study of roughly the first six months (Dec. 18, 2024 to April 30, 2025), reported by CalMatters in October 2025, counted about 9,000 people charged. Of those, 1,290 (15%) chose treatment, 771 were placed, and 25 completed it.
The Judicial Council's own 2026 Proposition 36 court data report is the primary official source. Defense lawyers and families who want to check specific figures should read it directly.
What a "treatment-mandated felony" is
The charge comes from Health and Safety Code 11395. It applies to possession and related drug offenses, such as those under sections 11350 and 11377, when the person has two or more prior convictions for listed drug offenses. Those priors must be alleged in the case and then either admitted or proven.
Eligibility is not the same everywhere. CalMatters found that some counties apply "washout" periods that disregard old prior convictions and others do not. The same person with the same record could be charged with a treatment-mandated felony in one county and not in another.
Old priors can matter a great deal. CalMatters described Nicco Pierstorff of Orange County, who had been sober for 8 years but was charged because of prior convictions dating from the 1980s to the 2000s. He completed a 6-month program, and his charge was dropped in April 2026.
The trade-off: you plead first
This is the part defendants most need to understand. Under HS 11395, you elect treatment by pleading guilty or no contest and agreeing to participate in and complete a treatment program. The plea comes before treatment starts, not after.
If you complete treatment, the court must dismiss the charge. If you do not, the plea is already on the record, and the court can move straight to judgment. This means that once you enter the plea, you have given up the chance to contest the charge at trial, and whether you are sentenced depends on finishing the program.
Step by step: how the treatment path works
1. Evaluation
After the plea, the court orders a drug and mental health evaluation by an addiction expert. The court also orders a check of whether the defendant is eligible for Medi-Cal or Medicare to pay for treatment.
2. Placement and the wait for a bed
Next, the defendant is placed in a program. In some counties, the bottleneck is here. Orange County has fewer than 300 residential treatment beds. Before Prop. 36, the wait for a residential bed there was up to about a week. CalMatters reports that the wait is now 2 to 3 weeks on average, and sometimes as long as 6 weeks.
3. The program itself
How long treatment lasts depends on where you are charged. According to CalMatters:
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Ventura County: 3 months, the shortest program found.
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Sonoma County: at least 1 year.
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San Luis Obispo County: 2 years, the longest.
The statute itself sets no time limit on treatment. Aaron Kasper of Sonoma graduated from a year-long program in July 2026. He was one of two people to graduate in that county.
What county you are in changes everything
Outcomes vary widely from county to county, and in some places there is almost no data.
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Orange County: As of February 2026, 1,311 people had been referred on drug charges and 314 agreed to treatment. Fewer than half of those were actively in treatment, and 15 had graduated. Homeless defendants made up 62% of completed evaluations, and 63 people were listed as "not active" with warrants out for them.
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San Diego County: Fewer than a third of those referred had agreed to treatment as of December, and 2 had graduated. Fewer than 5% of defendants were sentenced to jail or prison.
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Data gaps: Los Angeles County does not track how many people are referred or accept treatment. Stanislaus County does not track treatment data. San Francisco has made hardly any Prop. 36 drug arrests.
If you graduate
Completion is the best-case outcome. Under HS 11395, the court "shall dismiss" the charge once the defendant completes treatment. Under Penal Code 1000.4, the arrest is then deemed never to have occurred.
If treatment falls through
If a defendant refuses treatment or does not complete it, the court holds a hearing and may enter judgment on the plea. Under the statute:
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First conviction under the section: up to 1 year in county jail, or a term under Penal Code 1170(h).
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Subsequent convictions: county jail or state prison.
Failure does not have to end with a sentence. The court may send the defendant back to treatment "in the interest of justice." Whether that happens depends on the judge and the facts of the case, which is one reason having a defense lawyer at that hearing matters.
People are going to prison under this law. CalMatters reports that 568 people were admitted to prison on Prop. 36 drug charges between January 2025 and July 2026, with an average sentence of 28 months. The projected increase in the prison population at full implementation is about 1,550 people.
Why so few people graduate
No dedicated money. Prop. 36 passed without funding for addiction treatment. CalMatters reported in September 2026 that $650 million was requested for the first year, $100 million was received, $50 million came in the second year, and about $72 million in Board of State and Community Corrections grants has gone to 9 grantees since September 2025. Earlier CalMatters reporting, from October 2025, described the numbers differently: $600 million requested annually, $100 million approved one time, and $127 million in later grants.
Not enough beds. "We are simply out of treatment in my county," Santa Clara County Judge Stephen Manley told CalMatters.
Housing and warrants. In Orange County, most evaluated defendants were homeless, and dozens had stopped appearing and had warrants issued. A missed court date or a lost placement can move a case toward judgment.
Yolo County Public Defender Tracie Olson summed up the gap between the promise and the rollout: "The statute basically said, We will fix everything for you... And none of that happened."
Some county officials see real value in the law. "These are folks that we would not have gotten into treatment any other way," said Ian Kemmer of Orange County Behavioral Health.
What to ask your lawyer before you plead
If you are charged under HS 11395, or a family member is, these questions are worth raising with your defense lawyer before any plea:
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Are my priors properly alleged, and can the prosecution prove them? The charge depends on two or more qualifying prior convictions.
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Does this county apply a washout period? Old priors may or may not count depending on the county.
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How long is the program here, and how long is the wait for a bed? That could mean 3 months or 2 years, and a wait of days or weeks.
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What happens if I relapse or miss a session? Ask how this judge usually handles termination hearings and whether being sent back to treatment is realistic.
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What sentence could I face if treatment ends? Get a specific range based on your record.
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Do I have other options? Ask whether you qualify for Penal Code 1000 diversion or mental health diversion. Eligibility depends on the facts of each case.
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Can I get coverage for treatment? Ask about the Medi-Cal or Medicare eligibility check the court orders.
The bottom line
Prop 36 drug treatment can end with a dismissed charge and an arrest treated as though it never happened. So far, very few cases have ended that way. The guilty or no contest plea comes first, and in most cases where treatment ended early, judgment followed. How long the program runs and how long you wait for a bed depend largely on the county.
If you are facing a treatment-mandated felony, talk to a defense lawyer about the local program, the evidence on your priors, and every alternative before you enter a plea. The choice to go into treatment is yours, and you should make it knowing what happens if the program does not work out.
Related reading
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Domestic Violence Gun Rights: Why a Misdemeanor Conviction Ends Them for Life
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Which Hemp THC Products Become Federal Drug Crimes, and When?
Sources
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CalMatters: Is California crime law Prop. 36 working as voters intended? (Sept. 17, 2026)
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KPBS republication of the CalMatters investigation (Sept. 17, 2026)
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CJCJ: Prop 36 Promised Treatment. It's Delivering Incarceration (March 18, 2026)
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Judicial Council of California: 2026 Proposition 36 Court Data legislative report (PDF)
Note: This article contains AI-assisted content and has been reviewed by our editorial team.
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