NEW DRUG COURT SET UP TO HANDLE ADDICTS

Treatment And Rehabilitation Emphasized By Pilot Project

EDMONTON - A pilot project giving addicts a separate drug court was
launched Friday in a move that officials hope will lead to more treatment
for offenders -- and less crime in the community.

"We are breaking some new ground in our Edmonton provincial court today,"
said provincial court Judge Darlene Wong, before hearing pleas from 10
individuals charged with drug offences after being arrested during a sting
in December.

The project diverts addicts from the normal court process, which may have
resulted in a jail term, but no treatment, for their dependence on
substances such as cocaine or methamphetamines.

It will work with non-violent offenders, often prostitutes or small-time
dealers, whose crimes were motivated by their drug addictions.

A steering committee of legal professionals -- from social workers to
lawyers and judges -- worked for more than three years to hatch the drug
court, which is modelled on similar courts established in Toronto in 1998
and Vancouver in 2001.

"They are people that need help and that's what this is all about," said
committee member Neil Skinner, legal counsel for the provincial court of
Alberta.

In the first three years of the Toronto program, 85 per cent of the
offenders who went through the program did not reoffend. The annual cost of
Toronto's program is about $8,000 per offender. It costs taxpayers about
$50,000 yearly to keep a non-violent drug offender in jail.

To be eligible, offenders must plead guilty and show they are committed to
treatment. They must check in regularly with the court during the process
of rehabilitation, which may take up to a year.

If offenders are successful in controlling their addictions and adhering to
the conditions imposed by the judge, they will not have to spend time in
jail, but will still have criminal records. If unsuccessful, the offenders
will be sentenced as they would in the regular court process.

Laraba Thompson, 31, appeared before Wong first, charged with trafficking
in a controlled substance, cocaine.

Thompson, a schizophrenic and drug addict, agreed to attend a treatment
program at Ponoka, which has a six-month waiting list. In the meantime, she
will live at home with her parents, report to a probation officer and
adhere to a court-imposed curfew.

"Her motivation is perceived to be sincere and she is a worthy candidate
for this project," her lawyer, Laura Stevens, told Wong.

Offenders may receive extra help to organize housing or job training from a
court-appointed team of workers, including former police officer Jo Ann
McCartney and Kate Quinn of the Prostitution Action and Awareness
Foundation of Edmonton.

The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission will fund treatment for
addicts in the pilot project.

Skinner hopes the experiment will lead the way towards a permanent drug
court in Edmonton. His committee recently applied to the federal government
for funding to set up such a system here.

The federal Department of Justice, through its Canada Drug Strategy, has
set $8.8 million aside to fund four new drug courts across Canada over a
four-year period. Edmonton is competing with Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina and
three Ontario jurisdictions for the new federal dollars.

Wong told court the federal government is expected to make a decision on
who gets the new drug treatment courts within two weeks.

After her appearance in court, Thompson said she felt "honoured to be able
to participate in something like this.

"I feel it's a good chance to get well," she said.