DRUG COURT HELPS USERS GRADUATE TO A BETTER LIFE

This graduating class was not decked out with flowing robes and caps. But
last week in the old Jackson County Courthouse, the graduates got a book, a
diploma and a new sense of self-worth.

The Jackson County Drug Court graduated about 20 former drug users. The
ritual happens six times a year, resulting in 850 to 900 graduates since
the program began in 1993.

Drug Court gives nonviolent drug users an opportunity to start over with a
clean record. According to the Drug Court model, participants commit crimes
such as burglary because of drug use.

"The idea is that if you offer them treatment instead of prosecution, the
individual deals with the substance abuse and the criminality," said Vicki
Boyd, deputy administrator of COMBAT, a taxpayer-financed program to fight
drugs and crime in Jackson County. "These people no long commit crimes once
they are substance-free."

Officials who track participants for five years after graduation said 95
percent maintain a crime-free lifestyle.

Participants must maintain steady full-time employment, be drug-free and
report to court on their progress.

Drug Court Commissioner Brian Wimes said holding a job and maintaining a
steady residence are "facets" to help participants develop stable lives.

"You want them to get a work ethic," Wimes said. "Those who have a stable
job tend to do well in the program."

Wimes said participants learn accountability when they attend counseling
sessions. If the session starts at 6 p.m., don't show up at 6:01, Wimes
said. The doors will be closed, and you will be marked as absent.

Patrick Bente, 25, said he learned that lesson the hard way. It took him
three years to graduate from his one-year Drug Court program. Bente said he
skipped some classes, was tardy to others and generally had a defiant
attitude toward everything and everyone. Bente said he tried to "buck the
system."

Donna Bente feared that her son would fail the program. If so, he would
have been sent through the state's judicial system. A conviction would
result in a criminal record and possible jail time.

"I said `I think luck is about to run out,' " she said.

However, Patrick Bente's counselors would not let him buck the system. They
moved him into a residential drug-treatment center from outpatient
counseling. That was the extra step that prompted him to change his
attitude and life.

He's now drug-free, has a job and plans to take a high school equivalency
test. Bente attributed his accomplishments to Drug Court, which made him
develop a sense of responsibility.

"I used to be a troublemaker," he said.

Drug Court develops individual treatment plans that include counseling,
anger management, parenting skills and life-skills training.

Those are essential to beat a drug habit, counselor Maurice Pearl said.

"When you take something away from somebody, you have to give them
something to replace it," Pearl said. "Drugs were a big part of their lives."

Drug Court also provide services in other areas of participants' lives,
such as free GED classes, dental services, utility assistance and health
care for children.

"If you're busy worrying about where you're going to sleep tonight or what
your kids will be eating, you can't focus on your recovery," Boyd said.

Officials estimate that each participant uses roughly $1,500 of services.

Bente, who had smoked marijuana since he was 18, says he does not think
about drugs anymore.

"They showed how things made me go to drugs," he said. "I learned to be
more responsible.

"I got it straight on."