'DRUG COURTS' GET HOUSE PANEL'S BLESSING

If Bill Passes, It Would Be Up To Local Judges To Implement It

A program designed to help people get off drugs is one step closer to being
spread throughout the state.

The House Judiciary and Rules Committee endorsed a bill that would extend
"drug courts" to all judicial districts willing to take on the extra work.

The move would cost the state almost $1.56 million, but lawmakers and the
judges who support the drug courts say it will save the state money in the
long run.

Sixth District Judge Randy Smith from Pocatello said some drug courts have
cut recidivism rates from 70 percent down to 4 percent. The highest rate
he's heard of in other states for the partially federally funded program is
10 percent.

Idaho Supreme Court Justice Daniel Eismann, who as a district judge ran the
Ada County drug court, said this combination of counseling and probation
works for people who have tried and failed other drug rehabilitation programs.

"It's the threat of prison hanging over their head," he said.

People who complete the program get their charges dropped.

Of the 40 or so graduates of the local drug court, Eismann said he's heard
of just one who is heavily into drugs again.

Four or five have used drugs since finishing the program and then have come
back and asked to continue sitting in on group counseling sessions.

To be successful, a judge needs to be committed to the program and be
willing to invest the extra time it demands, Eismann said.

The bill would give the framework for new drug courts, but the local judges
need to decide whether they will create one.

The lawmakers on the committee were supportive of the change, which echoes
Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's call to increase the drug treatment programs in the
state's prison system.

Moscow GOP Rep. Gary Young got emotional when he talked about a day he
spent with the Ada County drug court participants. They told him the
program gave them hope, often for the first time.

"I saw these people as they rejoiced," he said.