RECORD FOR DRUG COURT IS SUCCESS

Mcg Residents Ready to Evaluate Participants

Although the Augusta Judicial Circuit's drug court is still in its
infancy, those involved give it rave reviews, and it has attracted the
attention of the Medical College of Georgia.

When the local drug court was established last year, it followed a
national model. It seeks to show addicts the path to sobriety and keep
them on it through counseling, peer group support, and a measured
response of punishments and rewards depending on conduct.

Participants are culled from those facing felony criminal charges in
Superior Courts in Richmond and Columbia counties. The first
participants entered the program in July.

Superior Court Judge James G. Blanchard Jr. volunteered to oversee the
program and is one of its biggest fans.

Within a few weeks he hopes to add another element, thanks to the
interest from the Medical College of Georgia's Department of
Psychiatry and Health Behavior.

"Many people who use and abuse drugs are masking mental illness,"
Judge Blanchard said. Having MCG psychiatry residents on hand to learn
and to help is a win-win situation, he said.

It's estimated that 17 to 23 percent of the people in jails and
prisons across the country have mental illnesses, he said.

Since the conception of a local drug court, Judge Blanchard has spoken
of a future mental health court. By keeping watch over those with
mental illness who have come into contact with the judicial system,
the cycle of incarceration could be broken.

"It's an issue that has to be addressed," Judge Blanchard
said.

Peter F. Buckley, professor and chair of the MCG Department of
Psychiatry and Health Behavior, said the drug court offers students a
great training opportunity to see addiction recovery.

The students train for four years in general psychiatry. The school
has applied to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education for accreditation for a new fellowship in forensic
psychiatry, Dr. Buckley said. It will prepare doctors for work that
crosses the psychiatric and legal fields.

For drug court, the psychiatry residents can assess, treat and provide
follow-up care for anyone in need of psychiatric services.

Those in the drug court meet regularly as a group with Judge
Blanchard. With success and sobriety, they pass through stages with
the goal of graduation. Mistakes can mean repeating stages or serving
jail time, the judge said.

So far he has revoked only one person who was caught selling drugs. He
was ejected from the program and sentenced to a 10-year prison term,
Judge Blanchard said.

Two other people quit, but 39 others are active, working and trying to
stay straight.

"Based on the numbers, I think that drug court is succeeding,"
District Attorney Ashley Wright said.

Participants are sober and stable and not committing other crimes, she
said.

Of the 20,245 people who entered Georgia prisons last year, nearly 65
percent said they were addicted to drugs, according to the Department
of Corrections' annual report on 2008. Also, 45.15 percent had been
incarcerated before.