U.S. DRUG CZAR PRAISES COURTS

ATLANTA - The nation's drug czar praised Georgia's burgeoning drug-court
system Tuesday and pushed for an expansion of the programs, which offer
treatment instead of jail time for drug users.

"Drug courts are the places where miracles happen - where people who
suffer, and cause other people to suffer, are brought together with the
help they need," said John Walters, the director of the president's Office
of National Drug Control Policy.

The Atlanta visit kicked off a 25-city tour for Mr. Walters, who hopes to
raise awareness about what he calls the benefits of the drug court system.

Separate drug courts give judges the ability to prescribe supervised
treatment, counseling, drug testing and other social services, instead of
jail time, to usually non-violent drug offenders.

Georgia's first drug court was established in 1994 in Macon. The state has
23 drug courts - 13 for adult felony users, three for adult misdemeanor
cases and seven for juvenile drug offenses.

The system gained renewed interest in January, when Georgia Supreme Court
Chief Justice Norman Fletcher called for more programs and a better system
of tracking defendants who go through the courts.

"We in Georgia are very convinced that the way to turn around people's
lives who have addictions is through the implementation of drug courts,"
said Judge Fletcher, who met with Mr. Walters on Tuesday morning.

No comprehensive national statistics exist for the success rate of drug
courts - one of the reasons Judge Fletcher called for a more comprehensive
accountability and evaluation system.

But Mr. Walters said some courts have reported success rates of 60-80
percent among defendants who successfully complete rehabilitation programs,
compared to 10-20 percent success rates for drug offenders who are
incarcerated.

State Court Judge Kent Lawrence of Athens presides over a court for repeat
DUI offenders and misdemeanor drug defendants. His sentences often include
job training, counseling and drug tests instead of jail time

"In 30 years I've been part of the legal system, drug courts are the only
things I've seen that really work," said Judge Lawrence, who spent time as
a police officer and prosecutor before becoming a judge.

Judge Lawrence said incarcerating a drug offender costs about $48 a day,
compared to $29 a week for his rehab program. And he said the rate of
defendants who return to court after completing the program is far lower
than the percentage of those who return after being in prison.

"We have really missed the mark over the years thinking that simply putting
people in jail was going to fix their problems," he said.

Leslie Baker, 54, of Atlanta says she's living proof that the drug courts work.

She said she spiraled from owning her own business to working as a
prostitute because of a drug addiction she couldn't kick until being
sentenced to treatment in the Fulton County drug court.

"It has given me back a new life - something I never had," she said.

"In 30 years I've been part of the legal system, drug courts are the only
things I've seen that really work." - State Court Judge Kent Lawrence, of
Athens, who presides over a drug court.