[Mick]

I have been a volunteer in the drug and alcohol recovery and treatment sector in California for a dozen years or so.  I have met and talked to probably twenty people who were given a choice between jail time and 30-60 days of rehab.  Many of them have established meaningful sobriety.

It's not exactly the same as the issues with which Jonathan is coping, but it's certainly similar.  I'm sure it is case by case, and such decisions have all been issued by the judges in the cases with which I am familiar.  It would be an impressive individual who, as a prosecutor, could recommend treatment in lieu of prison.

+1.  My brother is a public defender in San Diego County.  He frequently requests rehab, and he frequently gets it with the assist of the judges and prosecutors who see a spark of possibility.

[Mick]

I have been a volunteer in the drug and alcohol recovery and treatment sector in California for a dozen years or so.  I have met and talked to probably twenty people who were given a choice between jail time and 30-60 days of rehab.  Many of them have established meaningful sobriety.

It's not exactly the same as the issues with which Jonathan is coping, but it's certainly similar.  I'm sure it is case by case, and such decisions have all been issued by the judges in the cases with which I am familiar.  It would be an impressive individual who, as a prosecutor, could recommend treatment in lieu of prison.

+1.  My brother is a public defender in San Diego County.  He frequently requests rehab, and he frequently gets it with the assist of the judges and prosecutors who see a spark of possibility.