Drug Courts: A Brief Summary

I can’t speak for the entire State of Texas but Travis County drug court is making a positive impact on offenders’ lives. Two judges who manage Travis County’s drug court are directing addicts into a court supervised treatment program instead of incarceration. Drug courts like the one in Travis County have successfully handled nonaggressive defendants with drug and alcohol addictions. People who complete drug court programs rarely fall back into substance abuse. Per four drug-court judges surveyed, about 10 percent of program graduates commit new crimes. That’s a recidivism rate of one-fifth that of traditional probation programs. Which shows drug courts can ease the strain on congested penitentiaries and save taxpayer money. A study done by

Drugs have been known to be detrimental to American society. Commonly known as “ The war on drugs”. Majority of individuals who are incarcerated have been convicted of some type of drug offense and if not a drug related crimes. In many instances, a person can be sent to a jail or prison without receiving the required treatment to help the individual overcome their drug of choice. Remarkably, there is a court solely focused on an individual with a drug problem, which is known as Drug courts.

20. The following are trends in substance abuse treatment today except for A. chain smoking regarded as an addiction B.human rights seen as a practical philosophy C.counseling of clients in moderate drinking D.public opinion favoring more imprisonment of drug users ANS:D PG42 21. The drug court movement promotes what action with individuals whose legal problems are related to their addiction? A. decarceration – treatment in the community B. incarceration – treatment in the prison system C. requirement to serve out the remainder of prison term, in case of relapse D. moving clients into “wet house”. ANS:A PG46

Not only do the eligibility requirements of drug courts vary across the board, but the way the programs operate and their outcomes vary considerably, especially when it comes down to how they choose to operationalize the ten key components (Carey & Waller, 2011; Mackin et. al, 2009). In 1997, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals published these key components. The first key component is that drug courts integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services with justice system case processing (NADCP, 1997). Being that the mission of drug courts is to combat the abuse of drugs and alcohol it is imperative for them to promote recovery through coordinated responses. The second key component states that drug courts should use a

The Maryland drug court system has failed plenty of people since it was first introduced 1993, because of the goals and requirements are unrealistic and the offenders with an actual serious drug problem in the program are not getting the proper treatments they need to successfully stay clean once they graduate. In this essay elaborate on the practices that should be changed and if rehabilitation, detoxification and opioid treatments need to be available were to be implemented it would improve the program and keep people like my loved one on the right track and not headed to prison.

Putting in charge of developing a drug court it is dream come true because I have always eager to help people overcome any obstacles they deal with in the life. Being a drug addict is something very serious and that cause you to lose your dignity, money and loves ones because once you addicted to the drugs you will go the extreme miles to get that drug and it will become a necessity instead of a need for you. Since I have been putting in charge of developing a new drug court that can help someone, I must first discuss how I will develop that court and criteria but first before discussing the who is eligible, who is not eligible, and the elements of how the drug court will consist of but first I have to explain what is a drug court and provide

The Drug Court: Treatment Program Feedback Survey will be made available to current participants who are in the program, prospective graduates, and prior participants who have recently failed or completed the drug court program. With current drug court participants, the survey packet will be given to them during their weekly judicial visitation. For the prospective graduates, the survey instrument will be built into graduation requirements. For prior participants who have already completed, been terminated, or dropped out of the program, surveys will be mailed to their latest address along with a prepaid postage envelope. In the drug court survey packet, there will be a confidentiality/consent form, which will need to be signed prior to taking the survey. Surveys will be made available via paper-form or online, which will be noted in the packet. Those who opt to take the survey online via the individual drug court program website will be given a user id and password associated with each participant’s name. This slip will be provided in all survey packets, making the online survey an option for whoever has computer access.

In most cases, one of the main objectives of courts and the sentences they impose is that of rehabilitation. This is evidenced through a growing move in favour of a more holistic approach to justice, trying to address the issues which may have led to the crime, rather than just punishing the end result. One of the prime examples of this therapeutic approach to justice is the introduction of the Drug Court. Governed by the Drug Court Act 1998, the Drug court has both Local court and District court jurisdiction, and seeks to target the causes of drug-related criminal behaviour. It achieves this by ensuring that those who go through it receive treatment for their addictions, thereby reducing their propensity to reoffend, as many crimes are motivated by the need to satisfy addictions.

Drug Court is an example of drugs/alcohol intervention programs which monitors the movement of non-violent drug addicts in a well refined structured treatment programs to help them recover. I heard about drug court for the first time when we watched the movie in class. I think drug court gives drugs/alcohol offenders chances to redeem themselves by sending them to rehab and other services that will help make them better people within the period. Three reasons why I think drug courts are effective in a community.

Drug addiction has increased drastically across America in the last fifty years. Non-violent drug offenders fill our jails and prisons. Taxpayer dollars are put into a prison system that is proving to be counter-productive. Recidivism rates are high. Drug Court is an alternative to incarceration that offers rehabilitation to criminal offenders. In drug court, the traditional functions of the U.S. justice system are profoundly altered. The judge is the leader of a treatment team. The judge makes all final decisions and holds a range of discretion unprecedented in the courtroom, including the type of treatment mandated and how to address

Until recently, there was a dramatic disconnect between this research and drug court operations. The consequences of this disconnect included relapse, overdose, and death. While drug courts were designed to accommodate those in need of medical care, most operated under the misguided and dangerous practice of requiring defendants, as part of their successful program completion, to stop taking life-saving addiction medication prescribed by their physicians. This practice, which is at odds with decades of scientific and medical research, put individuals with opioid addictions in the precarious position of either having to stop taking their effective medication and risk relapse or use their medication and face incarceration. To compound matters

I believe that your topic about the effectiveness of drug courts is very interesting. It has been considered as a way that can be very cost effective and probably solve the issue of the overcrowding of prisons. Offenders who are non-violent are not placed in an environment where they probably will not be able to seek rehabilitation. Through the drug court program, the low level offenders will probably have a better opportunity in seeking real help and receive a second chance. They will be able to get support from their family and friends compared to just being placed in the prison system. However, are there enough drug court programs across the nation? How many people are not able to take advantage of this program? Looking forward in learning

Our textbook describes the two general types of drug courts as pretrial diversion, and post adjudication (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015, p 132). Reading the section on drug courts one might conclude drug courts are the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, I attest this is not the truth. I have personally seen the effects of drug courts, and they simply do not work.

Jefferson M. Fish, Professor Emeritus, former Chair of the Psychology Department as well as a former Director of Clinical Psychology at St. John's University wrote in the Oregon Law Review, "another set of mistaken assumptions underlies current policy regarding...mandatory drug treatment, offered by the courts as an alternative to imprisonment, is an effective and enlightened policy" (Fish, 2013). Fish (2013) attempted to convey to the readers, the absolute necessity of overhauling current United States policies regarding drug treatment. Several topics were touched upon, including the foundational policies of the War on Drugs as well as competing treatment paradigms. Regarding treatment paradigms, Fish (2013) breaks treatment programs down

“A drug is any chemical entity or mixture of entities, other than those required for the maintenance of normal health, the administration of which alters biological function and possibly structure” World health organisation (1981). Cesare Lombroso’s (1835) proposed that people were “born criminals” through human development and that criminals could be identified by features such as large ears or slopping foreheads. Although this theory is not used anymore in modern society, Cesare Lombroso’s (1835) is still recognised and credited for positivism and the scientific study of crime. Cesare Beccaria (1738) believed that criminal offences could be deterred by a form of punishment such as deterrence, and that people possessed a free will. Cesare Beccaria (1738) “theory is the foundation of the modern criminal justice systems” (page 260). “More people are arrested each year for drug-related offenses than any other type of crime, and taxpayers spend tens of billions on arresting, prosecuting and jailing offenders for drug crimes” In this essay, I, will be discussing how the criminal justice system responds to drug offenders.