DRUG COURTS OFFER SENSIBLE ALTERNATIVE TO PRISON

Colorado and California have loosened their drug laws in the name of
"medical marijuana," and the issue is poised to come up in Nebraska
as well.

Few of us would advocate expanded availability of mind-altering
drugs, but there's a good argument that too much law enforcement
effort and court time is spent dealing, ineffectively, with drug violations.

Drug violations need to be taken seriously, but a growing system of
"Problem Solving Courts," specifically created to deal with drug
issues is a better approach than simply relegating the cases to
standard criminal courts.

The latest is the 8th Judicial District, which includes O'Neill in
north-central Nebraska.

These specialized courts usually pair intensive addiction treatment
with judicial oversight. In drug courts, people plead guilty with the
understanding that their sentences will be deferred for the program.
If they don't complete the program, they are sentenced for their
original crimes. If they finish successfully, prosecutors then ask
judges to void the convictions.

Drug courts exist in the state's most heavily populated counties --
Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy, as well as in other districts around
the state.

Such specialized courts serving the Kearney and Grand Island areas
have shown success as well, with a 75-80 percent success rate.

And they're no easy way out. Many offenders say the intensive
treatment and accountability make a drug court sentence tougher than
prison.

Like the Work Ethic Camp program, however, it gives cooperative
participants a new chance at life.

It's unclear whether our district, the 11th Judicial District, is
being served by a drug court. The coordinator of the state's
problem-solving courts said only one district, the 5th, was not yet
served by a drug court, but one was being planned there. A check
with the local court, however, turned up no evidence of one in
operation in this district.

Whatever the case, a drug court needs to be established in our
district, or to become more active and visible, if it already exists.

Too much legal time is being devoted to cases that would more
appropriately be handled in an enforced drug treatment system.