DRUG COURTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The first taste of drugs came at 13, and for 26 years, it was a constant
battle. But at age 39, the Alexandria woman has been clean for 11 months.

"I can see things a whole lot clearer," the woman said. She credits, in
part, the Rapides Parish Adult Drug Court.

Since 1997, the court/treatment program has helped hundreds of people get
off drugs and get back their lives. Now, the 9th Judicial District Court
program hopes to expand. The parish also has a separate juvenile drug court.

Judge Thomas Yeager is eyeing a new Washington Street location, which would
free up funds and give the program more space for treatment services, such
as group and individual counseling sessions.

That's an expansion many say is needed to continue tackling the rising
number of drug abusers that pass through the parish court system. "The more
people that he (Yeager) can accommodate the better," said Rapides Parish
Assistant District Attorney Loren Lampert. "The drug-court program is a
welcome change over standard probation and incarceration to get people with
drug addictions help."

In 2001, the Rapides Parish District Attorney's Office handled about 1,534
felony drug cases. By the end of 2005, the office projects that number to
more than double.

In the first three months, 612 drug cases have come across the desks of the
assistant district attorneys. This doesn't include misdemeanor drug cases.
There are two prosecutors assigned to 95 percent of the felony drug cases.

Tenth Judicial District Judge Rick Harrington was shocked at the number of
drug cases coming through Natchitoches Parish.

He said an estimated 80 percent of felony crimes in the parish are
drug-related, so he sought funds to open the parish's drug court. It began
in September, so it is too early to gauge any results.

"Drugs are out there," Yeager said. "The drug court is one step in helping
to clean up our communities."

Some national studies have five-year post graduation success -- no drug
relapse and no more arrests -- as high as 85 percent while others have it
lower. Most national studies agree that drug courts reduce the likelihood
of a person getting arrested again or taking drugs.

In Louisiana, less than 6 percent of drug-court graduates are rearrested in
the year following their graduation, according to the Louisiana Supreme
Court, which oversees the state's 39 adult and juvenile drug courts.

The Department of Corrections estimates 70 percent of people placed on
regular probation return to prison.

There are four adult drug courts in Cenla -- Rapides, Sabine/Desoto, Vernon
and Natchitoches parishes -- and two juvenile drug courts in Rapides and
Concordia/Catahoula parishes.

For area adult courts, participants have been convicted of a drug offense
or drug-related charge. It is only for crimes that allow a sentence of
probation for the convicted person. Referrals to the drug court come from
probation officers and lawyers. If not in drug court, a violation of
probation, such as drug use, can send a person back to prison for their
full sentence.

Once in drug court, it is a treatment program, but the judge has the right
to send a participant back to jail for lapses or lack of participation.
Participants can be dropped from the program, and graduation depends on the
person's progress.

On Thursday in Rapides Parish adult drug court, one young man learned a
lesson about the punishment. He had not followed the rules of the program,
so Yeager ordered him to serve 30 days in jail.

On the spot, a bailiff handcuffed him and didn't allow him to even hug a
woman who had escorted him to court.

"He is tough," one drug court participant said in reference to Yeager.

Not all cases ended that way. Many of the participants told stories of success.

Sitting like a father figure on the bench, Yeager congratulated people who
stood in front of him, as well as chided them for their mistakes.

A mother of four stood before him with one of her children perched on her
hip. Yeager warned her to ask for help in dealing with the stress of having
to care for four children.

The Alexandria mother had gotten custody of her children and had been drug
free for 13 months. Before drug court, the 27-year-old was using and
selling drugs.

Participants brought their children for Yeager to see or artwork they had
done. They talked of the jobs that they had gotten and the strides they had
made in counseling.

A 31-year-old Alexandria man once addicted to marijuana hasn't used the
drug in 18 months. He soon will graduate from drug court and plans to work
offshore.

"I didn't think I was going to make it when I first started," he said. "But
it was something I had to do. Drug court has helped me to stay clean."

Yeager said even if a person doesn't graduate from drug court, they receive
education on making positive choices and how they can turn their lives around.

Success is not limited to Rapides Parish. Already, Seventh Judicial
District Judge Kathy Johnson has seen results.

The Concordia/Catahoula parish judge opened the parishes' juvenile drug
court in January 2004. Her first participants graduated this month.

"To see where they have come when I first had them stand before me is
amazing," she said.

Two of the graduates are getting a GED and another has a job lined up to
work on a riverboat: Things they wouldn't have done if they had stayed on
drugs, she said.

Eleventh Judicial District Judge Robert Burgess said there is no good
reason for the participants to be in drug court except to put their lives
back on track. Burgess serves DeSoto and Sabine parishes.

He said the parishes' adult drug courts, which have operated for five
years, works when it works. A letter from a former participants shows
Burgess just how much the program works.

Kelly Thurmon of Sabine Parish attempted to commit suicide during a drug
relapse. She said drug court didn't give up on her, and she has been clean
for more than two years.

"When I first entered your program, like most people, I lived a crazy life
that I could not manage," she wrote.

Thurmon said Friday that she was addicted to prescription drugs. After
taking them for an injury, she became hooked. The former nurse knew how to
call in her own prescriptions and thought she wouldn't get caught.

Once caught, she said, drug court taught her that she could live without
drugs and she has been able to apply the lessons taught in drug court to
her own life.

Now, she has seen her son for the first time in four years. She lost
custody after a drug arrest.

"I don't think I could have made it without the drug-court program," she
said. "I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and had to make a
change. They helped me do that."