WORTHY INVESTMENT: EXPANSION OF DRUG COURTS MAKES SENSE

More than once, good ideas have been shelved in the final days of the
legislative session. We hope that won't be the case for plans to expand the
use of drug courts in Oklahoma.

Some $16 million has been sought this year for drug courts' expansion. If
approved, the state would expand 20 existing drug courts, start nine new
ones and reach more prisoners who are eligible for the special courts. Drug
courts now can serve about 1,575 offenders who typically are facing their
first drug possession offense and have no prior felony convictions. The
extra money would increase the drug courts' capacity to more than 4,800.

Only a fraction of state inmates who qualify for drug courts are able to
participate because there aren't enough slots available. As a result,
taxpayers shell out nearly $17,000 a year for each inmate to stay in prison
as opposed to $5,000 for drug court participants.

State mental health officials estimate $16 million in extra state funding
would result in an estimated savings of $38 million next fiscal year and up
to $80 million over four years. But it's not just the money. Drug courts
are making a real difference for many Oklahomans, helping them become
productive members of society rather than locking them up with little or no
help to break the addiction that landed them in trouble to begin with.

Those who successfully finished the drug court program between July 2001
and June 2004 were less likely to return to prison than prisoners on
probation, according to a recent report. Drug court graduates were far less
likely to return to their criminal behavior than released prison inmates.

The evidence indicates that drug courts are working. We urge lawmakers to
increase funding to give more Oklahomans a chance at reclaiming their lives
while decreasing the load on an overburdened prison system.