STATE NEEDS TO SUPPORT DRUG COURTS

The 103rd General Assembly is in the books, but it's never too late to
start thinking ahead. Next year, lawmakers should throw their full support
behind a program that has gotten relatively little attention, but has been
one of our biggest successes: drug courts.

There are only 12 drug court programs in Tennessee, including two right
here in West Tennessee. By all accounts, the programs have been successful.
Yet, every year, they struggle for funding just to keep their doors open.

Certainly, drug courts have their share of failures. In Davidson County,
about 30 percent of addicts go back to jail for failing to obey the
program's strict rules. And 16 percent eventually relapse after graduation.
But compare that relapse rate with the national average of 67 percent, and
it's clear the programs are making a difference.

Properly funding drug courts, and encouraging the creation of new ones, is
one of the most effective things lawmakers can do to combat crime. That's
because the majority of nonviolent crimes committed in Tennessee are fueled
by drugs and alcohol.

Lawmakers should support drug courts because diverting addicts into the
program would save the state money, help alleviate overcrowding in
Tennessee prisons and delay the need to build new ones. And they should
support them because the programs help addicts break the cycle of addiction
and become productive members of society again.

Drug courts have proven their worth. Now, it's up to the state to support them.