DRUG COURT HELPS BREAK ADDICTION, ARREST CYCLE

If it were possible to lock up an addiction, rather than a person, drug
offenses wouldn't be so frustrating to court officials, offenders and
society itself.

In the grip of that fierce foe, people do terrible things. Some neglect
their children. Some lose cars, jobs, homes, family. Some turn to theft and
prostitution. Nearly half of first-time drug offenders are arrested again
within three years of their release, and the recidivism rate climbs with
each subsequent arrest.

And though many of these offenders say they've been using drugs for years
when first arrested, many have never received treatment.

Addicts aren't innocent victims. But locking them up again and again
accomplishes little besides a need for more prison space.

Faced with this kind of enemy, public officials are to be commended for
trying alternatives that break the cycle of drug use and incarceration.
They deserve even more credit when they find something that works.

And in Volusia County, it looks as if they have.

One man -- Circuit Judge Ed Sanders -- deserves much of the credit for
pushing his fellow judges and other officials to consider starting a drug
court in Volusia County. State Attorney John Tanner, initially dubious, was
an early convert as well. They saw the same faces appearing again and
again, and knew it was time for something different.

A year ago, court officials started the drug court program in conjunction
with Stewart-Marchman Treatment Center. The effort is bearing fruit. Of the
257 people who have successfully completed the program, only 28 have been
rearrested. That tracks with national figures, which show that drug courts
work.

They work because they offer an experience designed to combat problems
caused by habitual drug use. Treatment is the first -- and probably most
important -- element, ranging from group sessions to intensive, inpatient
therapy.

The drug court program also works to re-establish social bonds, build
participants' employability and bolster life skills. It's understood that
many participants may backslide during the process, but counselors,
attorneys and even judges work as coaches and mentors, a pattern Sanders
started and Circuit Judge Richard B. Orfinger picked up. Participants work
to support each other, and many stay involved in the program even after
they've officially "graduated."

Other populations could benefit from this enlightened approach. Putnam
County is starting its own drug court program, and it should be expanded to
other counties as well, including Flagler.

It wouldn't be cheap, and it wouldn't satisfy those in society who believe
"criminals" should simply be tossed into a cell until they come to their
senses. But this innovative program does offer hope -- for the participants
who see a chance to reclaim their lives, for court officials who are tired
of revolving-door justice, and for society, which benefits from a lower
crime rate without the crushing expense of incarcerating the same people
again and again.