U.S. STUDIES SUCCESS OF LOCAL DRUG COURT

Nashville's drug court program, which houses about 90 nonviolent drug
offenders in a live-in, campus-like setting, is being eyed by federal
officials who are trying to improve the national drug courts program.

Federal officials say Nashville's drug court is an effective weapon against
addiction among incarcerated addicts.

Of particular interest is Nashville's long-term residency program, which
requires convicted drug users to stay at its facility for between a year
and 18 months, in lieu of harsher jail sentences.

Scott Burns, deputy director for state and local affairs at the Office of
National Drug Control Policy, says Nashville's drug court is attractive
because of its long-term care, the way it assesses its residents, and
because it requires its residents to get a job before completing the program.

It is also getting notice because it focuses on housing, a component that
sets Nashville's apart from other drug courts nationwide.

''Those are all things I want to look at,'' Burns said.

''But here in Washington, people tell us great things all the time - and
until we get there and look at it, I do not know what they're doing.''

Burns said it appeared there was good work being done in Nashville.

Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Seth Norman founded Nashville's drug
court program in 1997. The program houses about 30 women and 60 men at a
government-run facility off County Hospital Road in the Bordeaux section of
Nashville.

Norman says the program enjoys a low 15% recidivism rate, with only 18 of
120 who finished the program having been jailed again on drug-related charges.

Residents are tested for drugs, sometimes three times a week. Breaking any
of the program's rules can send drug offenders to jail, sometimes with more
jail time than they would have received in the first place.

In February, President George W. Bush outlined in his drug control strategy
that his goals were to prevent drug use before it starts, to disrupt
illegal drug trades, and to heal drug users.

Burns said Bush remained committed to the drug courts program, including
$52 million in his budget for drug courts. The president, however, wants to
ensure the money is being used effectively, Burns said.

''One of the key elements of the president's strategy is to heal America's
drug users,'' Burns said yesterday in a telephone interview. ''Everyone has
come to the consensus that you cannot lock everyone up and solve the problem.''

Burns will be in Nashville Tuesday to speak on the date of the fifth
graduation at the Nashville facility.