DRUG COURT OFFERS ALTERNATIVE ROAD TO RECOVERY

"Don't Volunteer If You Don't Think You Can Succeed."

This is the advise of first justice Honorable Lee G. Johnson of Malden
District Court, in regards to the year and a half-old District Drug Court.
The drug court was set up in April 2004 by Judge Johnson and his staff,
with the assistance of other community groups including Wakefield police.

The drug court is a minimum 12-month program broken into four phases,
designed to address the issue of substance abuse and rehabilitate addicts.
It is geared toward individuals who have already been sentenced for a crime
and would - without Drug Court - go to jail.

The court does not stereotype a person for age as a prerequisite, nor does
the individual have to be a first-time offender.

"We have 24 or 25 people in drug court at this time," said Johnson. "Their
ages range between 18 and upper 40s, with no certain age making up the
majority."

The only requirements a person must meet to be eligible for drug court are
that he or she must be an adult with a severe addiction to drugs or
alcohol, they must be post-disposition and they cannot be involved in a
violent crime, or be dealing drugs. With these conditions met, participants
are then required to sign a contract which ensures their complete
commitment to the program.

Meeting the drug team

In phase 1, participants are required to meet once a week, from 11 a.m. to
1 p.m., with the Drug Team. The Drug Team consists of 13 or 14 volunteers,
who can include Judge Johnson, court clerks, court officers, parole
officers, district attorneys, defense attorneys and other community
liaisons - sometimes even a member of a mayor's office.

During each meeting, the Drug Team speaks collectively about the compliance
of the individual and their progress, or the failure to comply to the
requirements, and what sanctions must be imposed upon them. Also discussed
is the matter of whether or not the participant is working, and living in a
safe environment.

"It's important to know if participants are working and going to their
meetings, because it keeps them busy," said Johnson. "The less free time
they have, the less time they have to think about their cravings."

In addition to the meetings, individuals must attend at least five
Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous meetings every week.
Participants in the Drug Court must perform scheduled and random drug tests
- - usually a urine test, though some are blood tests. They must attend a
counseling session every week if that is in their contract, be it drug,
alcohol, psychological or otherwise.

Inside the Malden Courthouse, AA meetings are offered once a week in the
morning, before drug court is scheduled. Attending this meeting counts
toward the individual's AA requirement.

"It is something unique to our program," said Johnson.

The phases start out intensely, and decline slightly after each is
completed, assuming the individual is making progress.

In phase 2, participants are required to attend court meetings only every
other week. The drug testing, AA and NA meeting and counseling meeting
requirements, however, are not lessened during this phase.

The next two subsequent stages maintain most of the commitments, though
court meetings are decreased again, to once every three weeks.

In the third phase, some of the responsibility wanes slightly, though
Johnson said that there is no easy part to the program.

"We have had people that have gotten all the way to phase 3, and had to go
all the way back to phase 1 again because of a relapse, but they want to
stay in the program," he said.

Failure to comply with the requirements of any phase will result in a court
sanction. The sanctions can range from community service to detoxification
to a week in jail. Depending on the number of times a participant falters,
he or she may be sent to prison for a full sentence.

"Part of the recovery process is relapsing," said Johnson. "The temptation
is always there for addicts, it's what they revolve their lives around."

Johnson makes it clear the Drug Team understands the work and commitment it
takes to get through the program - Drug Court is designed to be difficult,
so people will be able to overcome their addictions. Understanding that it
is not an easy task, and failure to meet requirements still cannot go
unpunished.

"Often times a failure will mean starting over again at phase 1, still
requiring a full year's worth of compliance from there on out. We are more
familiar now, that they are going to have relapses, but we do not want them
committing crimes," he said.

The most common substances being abused are cocaine, heroin, and OxyContin.

"I've never seen anything like OxyContin," said Wakefield Police Prosecutor
Robert Ross. "I've seen every kind of drug abuse case, and OCs far surpass
everything else."

Johnson said it is hard to determine how much of the drug problem comes
from which community in the court's jurisdiction, which includes Wakefield,
Melrose, Malden, and Everett.

"If I see any drugs coming in from specific areas, it's one too many," said
Johnson. "It is becoming an epidemic."

Johnson, like many law professionals, says drug addiction feeds into other
criminal activity, because it's a way for addicts to pay for their drugs.

Keeping the program running

Although the drug court has been recognized and approved by the Department
of Justice, it does not receive federal funding. The court runs in a large
part on a volunteer basis. Towns and cities within the jurisdiction help
out, but Judge Johnson hopes to submit a proposal requesting state and
federal funding as the program progresses.

"The drug court is going well because it is still in existence," said
Johnson. "People are still involved, trying to get better; people still
want to beat their problems. In this sense, it is a success. The only
problem will be if we don't have enough funding to keep running."

In terms of how high the success rate is, it's too early to tell. Because
the program has only been running for a little over a year, no one has
completed the full program yet. Johnson said that there are plenty of
people in phase 3 who appear to be approaching the final phase 4, but as
far as numbers go, more time will be necessary to understand percentages.

"People try to feel you out at first, see how easily they can slip past the
Drug Team without fully complying to all the requirements," said Johnson.

Some people may never make it to full rehabilitation. But many people, over
time, begin to open up to the judge and his team and sincerely try to beat
their addiction.

"After two phases, when you look at them and can compliment them, the
expression on their faces is as if they're thinking, 'he's proud of me',"
he said.

For moments like those, Johnson is proud also, of the visible effect that
the drug court has on those individuals who really want to succeed.

"If we have one person who gets through the program and can abstain from
abusing drugs, we have a success," he said.