TEENS ON DRUGS

Newport News Drug Court Must Deal With Causes

Drug addiction often means a lifetime of misery, and most addicts
eventually run afoul of the law and become an even heavier burden on their
community.

When that addiction begins during the teen-age years, it just means the
cost to both the addict and the community lasts longer and comes at a
greater price.

That's why Newport News' new juvenile drug court is a good idea. Drug
courts recognize that just throwing addicts in jail only delays their next
brush with the law and does nothing to rehabilitate them. A juvenile drug
court is an effort to deal immediately and effectively with teen-agers
during the early years of their addiction.

The new court to be established in Newport News will provide supervision
that will include requiring regular drug tests and school attendance. The
idea is to get the teens off drugs and be sure they stay off drugs -- at
least as long as they are in the program. That's all the courts can do.

But it takes more than just getting and keeping users free of drugs for a
period of time to make them free of the need that originally drove them to
drugs. Whatever the teens' backgrounds, chances are good that there was
something missing from their lives or something intruding on their lives
that caused them to end up on drugs.

During their rehabilitation, they need help to find out what that was and
to deal with it. Perhaps it was too much idle time, trouble with
schoolwork, or abusive, neglectful or even overbearing parents. Perhaps
they fell in with the wrong crowd out of loneliness or insecurity.

Whatever the cause, they need to learn to avoid it or deal with it if they
are to successfully kick the drug habit. And to do that, they probably need
a lot of one-on-one guidance and counseling.

It's good news that Newport News received a $449,256 federal grant to set
up its first juvenile drug court. It's equally good that many teens will
not have to go to jail but will receive assistance in the community to get
off drugs.

But in the end, someone must give these teens a reason to believe that
their lives can be better. It's in the best interest of these teens and
everyone in the community to do just that.