HONORING DRUG COURT

JEFFERSON - District Judge Henry Weber's long devotion to using the power
of the courts to help drug abusers get clean and stay clean has paid off in
many ways.

The chief one, of course, is the 288 people who have resumed productive
lives by successfully completing the pioneering Drug Court program Judge
Weber began in 1993.

Last week, however, all those years of effort and stories of success paid
off for Judge Weber's Drug Court itself. The National Association of Drug
Court Professionals, which came here to conduct a national training
institute, designated the local program as a "national model and training
center." That recognition is richly deserved.

Drug Court works, and it works by defying the simple-minded categories our
politicians have used in setting drug policies: It is tough and
rehabilitative all at once. Under the Judge's watchful and encouraging eyes
and with the threat of jail hanging over them, non-violent drug offenders
spend a minimum of a year undergoing drug testing, counseling, therapy and
job-training. Their official reward upon completion is getting the original
charges dropped. The real reward is getting back their lives, self-respect
and futures.

The rest of us, their neighbors, friends and families, benefit, too, from
Judge Weber's wisdom in focusing on potential before punishment.