DRUG COURT GRADS GET A FRESH START

+ The Polk program replaces jail with intense treatment.

Edward Graves has proof of how his life has changed: A photo taken one year
ago showing a hollow-cheeked, 160-pound man ravaged by methamphetamine abuse.

Now he carries 240 pounds and an air of accomplishment after graduating
Thursday from Polk County Drug Court, a yearlong program that replaces jail
time with intense treatment and strict supervision.

Graves and four other graduates - Trina Harrold, Holly Johnson, Sheena
Moriarty and James Pollak - hugged judges, shook hands with law-enforcement
officers and thanked counselors for their help at Thursday's ceremony.

"This disease that we have is very baffling," Pollak told a courtroom full
of people including Lieutenant Governor-elect Sally Pederson, Des Moines
Mayor Preston Daniels and State Rep. Janet Metcalf. "I think this program
is the best thing that's happened to this state."

Iowa's only drug court is getting attention from officials looking to solve
the growing meth problem. Polk County District Judge Linda Reade and two
current drug court participants will appear at a meeting today in Des
Moines with Vice President Al Gore.

But participants are not assured of success: About half of those who start
the program finish it. And one of the first graduates of the two-year-old
program, Randy Gene Fry of Des Moines, was charged with conspiracy to
manufacture meth in October.

State officials are evaluating the program and considering whether to
expand it to other counties. Reade keeps in contact with many of the 33
graduates and believes the majority are staying clean.

"It's very successful for individuals who are serious about changing their
lives, " she said.

Richard Bates, program supervisor, said the $367,000 program is cutting
court caseloads and relieving crowded jails.

Nationally, 31 percent of people on probation fail drug tests, Bates said,
while drug court

participants have a 10 percent fail rate. In Polk County Drug Court, that
figure is 4.35 percent.

The program includes defendants facing felony charges or probation
violators with a history of drug and alcohol abuse. People accused of
dealing drugs or violent crimes are not eligible.

Graves, 31, said he heard the program was too rigorous. But he soon
realized that 7 a.m. classes four days a week would beat jail. On Thursday,
he was recognized for never missing a class or failing a random urine test.

Last month, he achieved another goal: After sitting in jail for his
daughter's first two birthdays, he watched her turn 3 last month.

"She's one of the main reasons I got straight," Graves said.