GUILFORD SEEKS DRUG COURT MONEY

GREENSBORO - John McCullum didn't realize it at the time, but his
life would soon change for the better after a Winston-Salem police
officer carted him off to jail one day in 1998.

McCullum, 53, an unemployed Vietnam War veteran who began drinking and
using drugs when he was 9, faced the grim prospect of spending 18
months in jail on drug charges.

"My lawyer says, 'Let's send him to drug court to see if that will
help,'" McCullum said. He credits that with saving his life. "This
December 2001, it will be three years of being clean and sober,"
McCullum said. "If it wasn't for drug court, I wouldn't have had that
chance."

This year, Guilford County hopes to join Forsyth and 13 other North
Carolina counties that have created drug-treatment courts since the
state legislature approved the program in 1995.

Drug courts seek to treat nonviolent addicts through intensive
counseling, random urine tests and regular meetings with a judge
instead of sending addicts to jail.

Guilford and Buncombe counties are among about 250 applicants across
the country competing for $49.89 million in federal
drug-treatment-court grant money this year.

The Department of Justice is expected to announce who will receive
funding by the end of the month, a spokeswoman said.

If Guilford County wins approval, the $499,914 federal grant would
last three years. Guilford would contribute the equivalent of $201,446
in manpower, supplies and technical support.

Across the country, 673 drug courts have opened since the first onein
1989. Drug courts have opened at a rate of more than 100 per year
since 1997, according to an American University study.

Court officials said drug courts have increased in popularity because
they help break the cycle of drug addiction, which in turn reduces
crime and frees up jail and court space.

"These are the same people that have gone through the system and still
get out and do (breaking and enterings) and whatever," said Wheaton
Pike, project coordinator for Guilford County's proposed drug court
program. "We're hoping to make them productive people. Hopefully, they
won't come back."

Under Guilford's program, which would be based at the courthouse in
Greensboro, 20 to 40 nonviolent offenders each year would enroll after
entering a plea bargain.

They would be placed on supervised probation for at least a year and
appear before the same judge every other week. They would also be
required to meet with a case manager or probation officer at least
once a day during the first 90 days.

They would have to take routine drug screenings and attend community
support groups such as Narcotics Anonymous at least three times a week.

If participants fail to complete the program, the plea deal is
rescinded. Their case is then referred to the district attorney's
office with a new court date set.

Those who succeed are considered graduates of the program.

"Statistics are showing they are very successful," said Guilford
County District Court Judge Patrice Hinnant, a member of Guilford
County's drug-treatment-court management committee.

"For some people, it's the first and only thing they've ever graduated
from," Hinnant said. "You can see the pride and sense of
accomplishment and a sense they feel good about themselves."

In Forsyth County, 58 people graduated from the program from 1998 to
2000, according to the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts.

Forsyth County Superior Court Judge Ron Spivey said the number who
graduated may seem small compared with the overall number of drug
offenders. But it's made a big difference, he said.

"I realize it's only 60 people," said Spivey, who served in the drug
court program for two years while he was a district court judge. "When
you think about it, each of those 60 people could have done more
crime. It's 60 people in this community that hadn't been victimized.
It not only helps us with the entire drug problem, but the whole crime
picture."

It's been more than a year since McCullum graduated from drug court.
He now sees a bright future ahead and plans to be a drug counselor.

"After all these years of me doing drugs and alcohol, and being clean
for almost three years now -- that's a blessing."