In the three months since the law has gone into effect, officials also are finding fewer drug offenders than anticipated pleading guilty under Proposition 36. Instead, many are choosing to plead guilty under the old law where the sentence may be probation or a few weeks in jail.

"One of the lessons we are learning is that we are getting a lot of people who are so addicted they just aren't ready for treatment," said Judge Stephen Marcus of Los Angeles County. "Their addiction is so powerful it controls everything in their lives."

Many offenders are not reporting to court-ordered residential drug treatment centers. Those who do seek treatment have more serious addictions than expected, coupled with mental illness, homelessness, and unemployment.

But Bill Zimmerman, executive director of the Campaign for New Drug Policies, the advocacy group in Santa Monica that sponsored Proposition 36, said the law is working effectively.

"The basic goals are being met," said Zimmerman. "The key thing is, people who formerly were being incarcerated are now getting treatment. The doctors tell us that we can't expect more than one-third of these serious addicts to recover. That's a very low number, but it is a lot higher than the number who were being cured in jail or prison without treatment. And there are the other not-so-serious addicts we can save."

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