DRUG COURT THE ANTIDOTE FOR A LIFE WITHOUT DIRECTION

By his own account, Takeo Jackson of Montgomery was "headed down a
dead-end road." His life was on idle, rolling slowly downhill.

At 23, he had never even bothered to get a driver's license. He worked
the occasional job to put some cash in his pocket, but mostly he was
hanging with his homeboys, getting high. He had fathered four
children, but was mostly missing in action as a dad.

"I had too much free time," Jackson said.

All of that changed in 1999, after Jackson got busted for marijuana
possession. He was carrying only 1.6 grams -- "that's just usage, not
dealing," he said -- but it was his second pot bust, and it threatened
to mark him as a felon.

"That felony stops you from doing a lot of things. You can't vote. You
can't own a gun. You don't want that 'X' on your back," said Jackson,
now 25.

Thus motivated, Jackson entered Montgomery County's Drug Court
program, which allows drug offenders to keep their records clean if
they can complete a rigorous, closely monitored one-year regimen heavy
on testing, treatment and personal responsibility.

Pride And Discipline

Jackson said the program's first phase, which requires drug-testing
and counseling three times a week, was demanding, especially for a man
unaccustomed to being punctual for anything.

"If you showed up five seconds late, they'd turn you away and you had
to see the judge," he said. "After I got used to that, it wasn't that
hard."

Along with being on time for all appointments, Drug Court requires
participants to obtain a driver's license and a full-time job, steps
Jackson realized were needed if he was going to get his life off the
blocks.

An outgoing, often-smiling young man, Jackson applied for a job and
was quickly hired at Harbin's-Stern Brothers to assemble and deliver
office furniture. His new status as a 40-hour-a-week man boosted his
pride.

"The first time my kids saw me in my uniform, they said, 'Look at
Daddy. Daddy got a uniform,' " Jackson recalled. "That made me feel
great."

Budding Entrepreneur?

Mike Behrman, co-owner of Harbin's, said Jackson has been a model
employee for his 16 months on the job. He's been on time, missed only
a few days and established good rapport with customers, Behrman said.

"We've hired several people who have been afoul of the law -- everyone
makes mistakes -- and some of them have worked out and some haven't,"
he said. "Takeo has panned out fantastic. I've had customers call to
say how polite he is."

Completing Drug Court has instilled Jackson with new confidence. He
said he no longer hangs with his old buddies and devotes more time to
his family. He's also "thinking real hard on going to college," with
an eye toward running his own business someday.

More than anything, Jackson credits Drug Court with forcing him to
re-examine his life. Early on, a counselor asked him what he planned
to be doing in five years. Jackson didn't have an answer, but decided
then that he had better start figuring one out.

"That was a good question to ask me at that point. It helped me learn
more about myself," he said.

"It's going great now. I know I'm going to continue on. No turning
back."