RELAPSE FOR A DRUG COURT - BUT TREATMENT'S STILL THE BETTER PLAN

WHEN THE first graduate of the drug court in Washington County was arrested
again, all of us who want the court to succeed were crestfallen. It was
disappointing news, but it doesn't mean the drug court won't work, only that
solutions in human affairs aren't as permanent as we might wish. That isn't
what we wanted to hear. For ours is an impatient society. We want everything
right now, if not sooner. The guy in front of us who doesn't move fast
enough when the light turns green, the kid behind the counter who's too slow
with our fast-food lunch, the computer that stalls on a busy morning.

All of life's little inconveniences begin to pile up into a belief--a
demand!--that things should work better and faster. It's the American way.
Efficiency!

Writing editorials doesn't make us experts on addictive behavior. But we
much prefer to write about stuff we know nothing about. It's so much easier.
And even that preference is addictive. We struggle with it. Some days we
make headway, other days we relapse into lazy, reflexive thoughts and the
kind of simple solutions that don't really solve anything. And we get
disgusted and ready to give up. It's easy to get discouraged, especially
when we mess up. It's just as easy to get discouraged about the job the drug
court is doing.

But, by coincidence, the same day the news about the re-arrest appeared, the
paper printed a guest column by Denele Campbell on the contradictions in our
drug laws. She's the author of the delightful book Notes of a Piano Tuner.
She's also a tireless activist for a more sensible approach to the drug
problem. And she's just over at West Fork. Her words stirred thought.
Something must be in the air--and we don't mean the whiff of illegal
substances. One of today's hottest movie tickets is for Traffic, a Hollywood
counter-attack on the war on drugs. It seems both Ms. Campbell's column and
the movie are arguing against treating a health problem as a crime. The
people who go to drug court aren't drug dealers. They're folks with a
physical dependence they're trying to overcome. And it speaks well of
Washington County that it's trying to treat these addictions, instead of
just locking up the folks who have them.

Relapses will happen to people trying to kick habits. Ask anybody who's
tried to quit smoking or lose those extra pounds. It's easy enough to fall
off the wagon. But a relapse shouldn't be confused with recidivism.
Sometimes it's just part of the cure.

The only answer is to keep trying--to keep aiming for longer and longer
periods between relapses. A 100 percent success rate is an unrealistic ideal
for any of us. Or for a drug court.

Let's stick with it. One day at a time. It's the long haul that counts.