Pubdate: Thu, 03 Jan 2002
Source: Herald, The (WA)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Herald Co.
Contact:  http://www.heraldnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190
Author:  Jim Haley, Herald writer.

NEXT DRUG COURT CLASS READY TO GRADUATE

When the first person graduated from this tough school, a courtroom full of 
his classmates cheered wildly.

Many of them now have also successfully completed a drug court regimen that 
includes counseling sessions, therapy, court attendance and frequent drug 
tests to make sure they're clean.

Since the first graduate in December 2000, two dozen people have 
successfully passed through the program under the sometimes stern guidance 
of Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Richard Thorpe, usually two or 
three per month.

At 5 p.m. today, Thorpe expects 16 men and women to receive his fatherly 
blessing and graduate. It's by far the largest single graduation class of a 
program that takes from 12 to 18 months to complete.

Instead of prison or jail, those who make it through the drug treatment 
court have felony charges dismissed and get a second chance to become 
worthwhile citizens.

It's a lot of effort expended by the addicts and those shepherding them 
from the world of drugs back into society.

Is it worth it?

"It's overwhelmingly worthwhile," Thorpe said.

Of the two dozen he's seen go through his program, he knows of only two who 
have had new drug offenses. Nationally, addicts once jailed by the justice 
system are far more likely than not to reoffend after doing their time, 
Thorpe said. The statistics vary between 70 percent and 90 percent who have 
new contacts with the law for drug use, he said.

Therefore, an intense program such as this -- dubbed Choosing Healthy 
Alternatives, Recovery and Treatment, or CHART -- are valuable in human 
terms as well as in saving money for the community in the long run, Thorpe 
said.

The judge has invited all previous graduates for this afternoon's 
celebration in the Ginni Stevens Hearing Room in the Snohomish County 
Administration Building. The scheduled speaker is state Rep. John Lovick, 
D-Mill Creek.

One will be a woman who is now in school studying to become a massage 
therapist. She told Thorpe via e-mail that since graduation life has been 
"great."

"These are people who otherwise would be unproductive at the least and 
harmful to society at the worst," Thorpe said.

Not only do individuals get a second chance to produce something in the 
world and feel good about themselves, but not having to prosecute them 
repeatedly also saves the rest of us money, he said.

It costs about as much to run someone through the program as to jail them. 
If they continue to be drug free, "that chunk of money is spent only once," 
Thorpe said.

The drug court program started in Florida in 1989 and spread through the 
country. Thorpe went through some training and started presiding over 
weekly drug court sessions in October 1999.

The participants may be drug addicts, but they're not dealers and have not 
committed violent or sex crimes, Thorpe said. Some are required to go into 
residential drug treatment programs before being accepted into drug court.

Along the way the judge hands out discipline if the participants slip or 
don't show up for 12-step meetings. Punishments range from community 
service to a few days in jail.

Thorpe said he plans to continue monitoring drug court.

"I love it," he said. "It's the most worthwhile thing I've done in my 
professional life."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart