OFFICIALS WORKING TO EXPAND DRUG COURT

Some people call drug court "hugs for thugs."

But the rules are simple and serious -- get clean or go to jail.

Judges, lawyers, treatment providers and law enforcement and
probation officers want to expand it to handle nearly double the
number of offenders. About 350 people are in the Oklahoma County drug
court program.

Leslie Ames, 37, of Oklahoma City has paid thousands of dollars to
urinate in a cup every week. The drug screenings are expensive but
mandatory. She said the counseling, the meetings and the
accountability demanded by drug court allowed her to shed a 25-year
drug addiction.

Ames will graduate from drug court next month and considers herself a
success story.

Prosecutors insist that rehabilitating offenders such as Ames will
keep them from reappearing in the court system. They say drug court
is not soft on crime but prevents crime.

"People who complete our drug court program deserve to have their
case dismissed," Oklahoma County Assistant District Attorney Steve
Deutsch said. "It's a living hell."

Judge wants expansion Expanding the program would require another
judge. Judge Lisa Hammond is juggling the 350-person drug court
docket with a juvenile docket nearly four times that size. Drug court
is only a part-time position for Hammond.

The judge believes in the program and hopes to see more offenders
allowed into drug court.

"I won't turn anyone away," Hammond said. "We'll just get used to
staying later."

Hammond is committed to handling drug court herself but said she
could use some help.

Oklahoma County presiding Judge Ray Elliott said there is a need and
desire to expand drug court, but the resources are not available.

"The problem here is that we have the largest dockets in the state,
and we're looking at removing a judge from their regular docket to
move to drug court," Elliott said. "There is some concern in delaying
justice for the people on that regular docket."

Jeff Yowell, the Oklahoma County drug court coordinator, said the
administrative costs for drug court are more than $435,000 and that
does not include the cost of treatment for the people in the program.
He said all the money comes from the state and federal government,
because grants and other funding sources are scarce.

The defendants' costs vary, depending on the type of treatment they
receive and the charge. Yowell said each person pays a $10 user fee
and $17 for each drug screening, which are done up to eight times a
month. He said the treatment copayment ranges from $400 to $1,000.

Prison costs more The alternative to drug court is prison, which is
more expensive and less effective, according to state officials.

Ben Brown, deputy commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Services, said a $16 million investment by
the state for drug courts would expand 20 operational drug courts,
start nine new courts and serve half the drug court-eligible
offenders now in prison.

He said the investment would save about $38 million in the first
year. In four years, savings would swell to nearly $80 million.

Brown said the savings are obvious -- a cost of $5,000 per offender
per year versus more than $16,000 a year for prison.

"In Oklahoma County, they run the biggest mental health facility in
the state -- the jail," Brown said. "It's bad that we're locking down
people with disease. Substance abuse is a disease. We have to find a
better way of doing this than locking people up."

Offenders helped Ames said she spent eight years in prison. The
sentence didn't deter her from breaking the law.

She was released from an Oklahoma penitentiary May 6, 2002, and
arrested 18 months later for possession of crack cocaine. She worked
out a deal with prosecutors to enter the drug court program.

At a recent drug court hearing, Hammond called Ames' name on the
docket. As she walked to the front of the room she proudly yelled
"558" for everyone to hear.

The number is the days she has remained sober. People in the courtroom cheered.

"I played the program when I go into it," Ames said. "I thought I
could get away with using. After a 25-year history of drug addiction,
drug court has given me the opportunity to change my life and get
along in society."

Chris Miller, 42, of Oklahoma City calls the people in drug court his family.

"If it hadn't been for them I'd still be going down the path of
destruction," Miller said.

During the 13 months Miller has participated in the program, he has
married, started a commercial remodeling business, devoted more time
to his church and helped his mother prepare peach cobblers for their
catering company. He prefers eating to getting high.

Miller wears a wide smile and is quick to offer his recipe for
cobbler or the Serenity Prayer from memory.

Not everyone can be a success, Deutsch said.

"We don't expect the highest success rate," Deutsch said. "If we
reach four out of 10 then we qualify that as a success. Those people
will not be back in the system. We do not have enough bed space to
lock up all the offenders. If they are willing to rehabilitate
themselves and not be a burden on society, then society will benefit."