CSU TAKES LEAD WITH DRUG COURT

Since the turn of the previous century, policy makers have wavered between
two schools of thought on combating drug abuse. One theory says drug users
are criminals and should be treated accordingly by the justice system. The
other advocates treating addicts as victims of their habits who must be
rehabilitated, not warehoused in jails.

As the pendulum of public debate swings steadily toward the latter, drug
courts are gaining popularity as an alternative to the way traditional
court systems deal with low-level offenders. Colorado State University is
among the nation's first schools to try the approach.

CSU tested its drug-court program last spring with eight students who were
at risk of getting kicked out of school for multiple drug or alcohol
offenses. The pilot program was a success. Now, in its second semester, it
serves as a model for how policies can achieve dual goals of reducing drug
abuse while helping the people who abuse them.

Nationally, drug courts have produced favorable results. According to CSU
officials, about 11 percent to 14 percent of participants in typical drug
or alcohol treatment programs stay clean. But after offenders attend drug
court for a year or more, success rates reach 67 percent.

So far, results at CSU are equally encouraging - so much so that the
Department of Justice is interested in making the school a national
training site for programs at other universities.

Each year, as many as 200 students are expelled from the school for repeat
drug or alcohol offenses. The voluntary drug-court program gives students
another option.

Drug courts require offenders to meet weekly for at least 14 months with a
judge, treatment specialists, a district attorney, a public defender, a
case manager and a probation officer. At CSU, a campus judicial officer
replaces the district attorney, and on-campus treatment replaces private
programs.

Of the eight student who participated last spring, one completed the
program and has maintained a clean record and six are still enrolled. One
failed to finish. This year, the program will be capped at 50 students.
About 20 have signed up.

Although the number of participants is still small, CSU's drug court is off
to a good start.

The drug-court concept is proof that treatment for addicts is not mutually
exclusive to fighting the spread of illicit drug use. Other schools should
be eager to follow CSU's lead.