BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- The Proposition 36 Drug Treatment Program in Kern County welcomed its first ever graduate on Monday, according to a release from the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.

Luis Miguel Torres became the first person to successfully complete the program in Kern County. As a result, Torres’ felony charge of hard drug possession with two or more prior convictions has been dismissed, officials said.

Proposition 36 -- previously known as the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act -- was passed in November after a huge support from voters. The law went into effect Dec. 18.

Under this new proposition, people convicted of some non-violent drug-related crimes can choose court-supervised rehabilitation over incarceration, the release said.

On Jan. 30,

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