Sacramento-area prosecutors have wasted no time using a new law that was approved by voters in November.
It was a key component of Proposition 36 and it toughens the punishment for possessing drugs, but also offers people a chance to go through a treatment program and have their charge dropped, instead of receiving a jail or prison sentence.
Before the statewide ballot initiative passed, California law generally required drug possession cases to be treated as misdemeanors. Now, prosecutors can file felonies when a person is accused of having certain substances, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, and has had two or more specific drug-related convictions…