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Actually, people in our drug court are required to attend at least three NA or AA meeting per week. One guy last at drug court this week said he went to fourteen meetings last week because he had a rough week. Our drug court uses a combination of treatments. At first, people go to three group meeting per week, and I believe each one has to meet with the drug counselor individually once a week. They also have to show up in court once a week, in addiction to the NA/AA meetings and for one to three drug tests each week.

Some of the people in drug court got there because they really wanted to be there. Most did it as a way to avoid prison, or because drug court is a way to have their felony records expunged in fifteen months. Most who are going to fail out do so within the first couple of months. The other seventy something percent make it through the fifteen month program. They learn pretty quick that they are going to either have to make a go of it or go to jail. Three in phase one were sentenced to jail terms for failing drug tests this week. One went for fifteen days because it was her second strike, the other two have to do two weekends. One guy last week went for thirty days on his first strike because they caught him trying to use someone else's urine on a test. It probably would have been worse for him if the drug counselor hadn't have put in a good word for him in our pre-court meeting and if so many of the drug court participants hadn't all spoken up for him during drug court. These people get tested so often that it is nearly impossible for them to continue to cheat throughout the program. Many cheat at first, because that's just the sort of thing drug addicts do, along with lying, rationalizing and so on. But when people are drug tested as much as these people are and their peers and the experienced probation officer and drug counselor are keeping an eye on them, most of them finally just give in and do right.

Our system seems to be working here. Actually, most of the people making it through the program seem surprisingly happy with it. They learn what is expected of them pretty quick. They know the judge 1) cares about them and wants them to make it, and 2) won't take any excuses and will put them in jail if they screw up. Also they know that if they keep a good attitude and try hard, do their homework assignments and cooperate, the probation officer and drug counselor will stand behind them and help keep them out of trouble if they happen to miss a meeting, have a brush with the law or whatever. The groups actually become pretty close. Drug court is fairly interactive and the participants are at least allowed to speak on each other's behalf if someone screws up. They provide a support net for one another and try to mentor the new kids.

I used to not believe in any sort of forced treatment. But what I have been learning is that for many if not most of these people, nothing else would work. And after they've been in the program a while and cleared the cobwebs out of their brains, many of them are genuinely glad that they were put in drug court. They'll make a speech when they graduate and tell the new folks they can make it and it will be the best thing they've ever done. Some of them come back to drug court sometimes to sit and watch and offer words of encouragement even after they are done and their records are expunged. Some help people in the program find jobs. I see a lot of them later and they tell me that they are grateful for having the opportunity to have completed drug court. Many believe it really helped them and they want to help other people.

Now, some of these people do end up going back to drugs. Some of them get busted again, no doubt about that. At this point there really isn't data available to see how successful the program is a getting people off of drugs in the long run. But, it is apparent that most of these people quit while they are in the program. Right here where the same temptations and triggers are, they learn to stay clear of people using drugs and live without the stuff for an extended period of time. That is the best thing about the program. These people, many of which have been getting high since they were young teenagers, learn that they can live life without drugs, even around here where drugs are everywhere. They get to see that they can have fun, satisfying lives without the stuff, and that is something many of them thought impossible before. The counseling and the program they work through probably helps many of them learn about themselves and addiction in general, but the frequent drug tests and knowing that cheating means jail forces them to sink or swim, and most of them swim.

So anyway, that attitude that you imagine most people in a program like this must have is not as prevalent as you think it must be. I think you would be pleasantly surprised with what you would see in our drug court. I've looked at a lot of these programs though and they are not all the same. Some of them are a joke. I will be pleading someone into a drug court program in another county next week. We work cases in other counties when there is a conflict of interest in representing co-defendants. I've sat and watched drug court there several times while waiting to do my pleas. I know people participating in the program and some who work in it.

Over there people are sometimes kept in the program even after failing a dozen drug tests. Often the only punishment people get for screwing up is that they have to sit in the "penalty box" (the jury section) during court. There is no interaction with the judge and the participants. People each go before the judge to talk about their progress while everyone else in the courtroom talks among themselves. There is no feeling of group adhesiveness, no feeling that these people are all in this together. It just seems like a way for the judges to put on the appearance that they are working on the drug problem while all they really are doing is diverting away some of the jail load and allowing attorneys to get good deals for their clients to justify their fees.

They are starting to change things in that other county though. From the reports I'm getting from the probation officer and drug counselor who work our drug court and also the other drug court, they are trying to make things work in the other county much like our drug court works here. And we didn't exactly invent the wheel here. We've been looking at what works in other parts of the country and other parts of the state and our system is constantly evolving.

This is an example that illustrates why I do not want a centralized government forcing a one size fits all approach on everyone. For one thing, different things will work in different communities, depending upon the size of the community, the make up of the population, the job situation, attitudes, etc. And these are complex issues we are dealing with for which there are no perfect solutions. We have a long way to go I believe the best way to get there is to allow communities to be free to innovate. That way we can all learn from each other and each community can develop systems that work better, fit their budgets, and fit better with local attitudes and desires. On top of that, it fosters pride and dedication that only comes when there is a sense of ownership in the programs and sense that these are community actions taken to resolve community problems.