What is the impact of drug use on the criminal justice system?

Nonetheless, the commonality of drug use and the incredibly far-reaching and deleterious effect it has upon our community may not have been fully comprehended in our society of 20 years ago, though even then the extreme recidivism rate was recognized. (People v. Mason, supra, 5 Cal.3d at p. 764, fn. 2, 97 Cal.Rptr. 302, 488 P.2d 630.) Defendants who accept a grant of diversion will not always succeed in transforming themselves

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