DRUG COURT TREATMENT TURNED HIS LIFE AROUND

Ex-pot-smoker urges firms to get involved

Bill Mahaney used to smoke a lot of pot. ''It was daily, I don't know, for
years,'' he says. ''It was outside the work environment, but I did it as
soon as I got home.''

One day, he got a call at work from a Sun Prairie police detective saying
they were searching his apartment for drugs.

''I told them exactly what I had and where to find it. I didn't want them
tearing up everything,'' Mahaney says.

And with that phone call, his life changed.

''My first concern was my wife. She was there when they served the warrant,
and she doesn't use and she never has,'' he says. ''I guess I was ashamed
because she had to deal with my shortcomings. I felt like I let her down.''

But 18 months after he was charged with possession of marijuana and drug
paraphernalia, 41-year-old Mahaney says he's on the road to a fuller life
thanks to the Dane County Drug Treatment Court Program, which treated
rather than incarcerated him.

''I'm richer in spirit and healthier in mind and body,'' Mahaney said
Thursday when he graduated from the program and all charges against him
were dismissed. ''Without it, I would've been convicted of a crime. At some
point, I would've been out on the street as an addict.''

On Friday, Mahaney's employers at Electronic Theater Controls in Middleton
wrote a check for $10,000 and gave it to the drug treatment court.

''We invested in it because we like what it does. It gives people a second
chance to start with a clean slate,'' says Margy Acker, company vice
president of finance and administration. ''There's the empathetic part of
it, but from a business standpoint, it makes sense to keep good workers.
It's only a plus for the community.''

It's a generous step that county officials, and Bill Mahaney, hope other
businesses will take.

''We view this as a real opportunity for businesses,'' says Dane County
Human Services Director Susan Crowley. ''It's an innovative way to provide
access to treatment and to successfully reintegrate people into their work,
their families and their communities.''

She says that since the program began two years ago, it's been funded
mostly through grants. In 1998, county tax dollars paid $65,000 of the
$419,820 budget.

Crowley says the limited-term grants are meant to get the program on its
feet. The goal is to fund half of it, at least $200,000, through private
money.

Acker, at Electronic Theater Controls, says the growing company has been
looking at how best to invest in the community. President Fred Foster heard
about the drug treatment court several months ago when Mahaney came in and
told him about it.

''We were impressed with the methods, which seem to be fairly intense and
thorough,'' Acker says.

But she adds that when you're making a donation, it also has to touch your
heart. ''We didn't do it because of Bill but I'm very impressed with how
it's been able to help him.''

Drug treatment court is meant for people who've been charged, often for the
first time, with drug possession. The drug of choice is usually marijuana
or cocaine, but many people have related alcohol problems.

According to county data ending July 1, prosecutors have so far referred 84
people to the strict diet of counseling, court appearances, home visits,
job checks, drug tests, and meetings with case workers and other participants.

Forty-three people have graduated so far, from programs usually ranging
from nine months to two years.

''It's tough. I mean, the misdemeanor charge would've been easy to take,''
Mahaney says. He credits his supervisor for allowing him flexibility with
his work schedule.

Circuit Judge Stuart Schwartz, one of two judges who administers the drug
treatment court, says he's watched Mahaney change. ''It's hard to quantify
success in this business so much of it is intangible but he is a success
story.''

Mahaney says if it hadn't been for his arrest, he probably wouldn't have
sought treatment. ''It was just a part of my life. Unfortunately, people
with addictions have to hit bottom, and I did that day when they searched
the apartment and my wife had to go through all that.''

A former boxer and semi-professional baseball player, Mahaney says his
experience is turning him into a vocal advocate for treatment programs.

''The drug war's been going on for, what, 20 years, and it's just not going
anywhere. I think the public would agree with that. But they also agree
with incarceration, and I'm saying it's not the answer all the time.

''There has to be a line drawn between when we incarcerate a person and
when we treat them,'' he says. ''Otherwise, it's a waste of money and it's
a waste of people.''

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski