Pubdate: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) Copyright: 2002 Chattanooga Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.timesfreepress.com/index.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/992 Author: Pat Mahony Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) TREATMENT OFFERS HOPE IN DRUG COURT PROGRAM DALTON, Ga. -- Municipal Court Judge Jim Wilbanks doesn't see drug addicts in his court; he sees opportunities, he says. One of those opportunities was 19-year-old Justin Cole. Mr. Cole said he couldn't stop using drugs and alcohol until the day he was busted and Judge Wilbanks offered him a chance for change with treatment, Narcotics Anonymous meetings and drug screenings. "For the past year, there has been some bumps in the road, and you've had to spend time in jail. We went through those periods," Judge Wilbanks said to Mr. Cole recently. "Now you're a good example of the program and how it works with your initiative." The program did make a difference, Mr. Cole said. "It's turned my life around," he said. "If you knew me before, I was pretty bad. Now I'm doing great." A pile of essays lie on Judge Wilbanks' desk. All are testimonials to the positive work of drug court, a new approach to stopping the cyclical nature of drug arrests. "The jails and prisons are full," Judge Wilbanks said. "We have to correct the problem. Otherwise, it's a vicious circle. In the 1960s and 1970s, we were treating the addiction. "As the conservative movement took over, the attitude was, 'It's their fault. It's their responsibility. Stick them in jail and punish them.' It's not working. We can't afford as a society to do it," Judge Wilbanks said. The drug court program looks at the defendant's history of abuse and combines inpatient or outpatient treatment with jail time, intensive probation, supervision and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to address the problem, Judge Wilbanks said. "A lot of these people will tell you straight up they can't do it alone," Judge Wilbanks said. Alternative Probation Service supervises probationers with the use of ankle monitors and phone line Breathalyzers, said probation service representative Matthew Johnston. "It's a random (phone) call, and they blow through the (tamper-proof) Breathalyzer camera, which sends the information back. It also determines that they are at home. Both are pretty effective," Mr. Johnston said. Relapses are expected because drug addiction is a daily battle, Judge Wilbanks said. "I expect them not to relapse, but I'm not surprised when it happens," Judge Wilbanks said. "We have it fairly often. It carries with it serious consequences." People who abused drugs relapse more often than those who abused alcohol, Mr. Johnston said. "If they test positive, they are likely to spend the next two weekends in jail," said Rick Eaton, owner of Alternative Probation Service. The difference is in the care for the individual, Judge Wilbanks said. "Some of these people say they don't want to come back and face me because they don't want to disappoint me. Judges don't typically have this kind of interaction, and people aren't used to it," he said. At other times, nothing works, and the person goes to jail to serve the time, Judge Wilbanks said. "There is one 19-year-old female with a history of methamphetamine and marijuana use. She is bright, articulate and comes from a great family. She came home from a residential treatment center for several days and used again," Judge Wilbanks said. "The next step was reality. I put her in jail for six months." - --- MAP posted-by: Ariel