Pubdate: Sun, 05 May 2002 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 2002, The Tribune Co. Contact: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446 Author: Joseph H. Brown EXAMPLES FOR OTHERS NOT TO FOLLOW Spend a day observing Hillsborough Circuit Judge Donald Evans' court, as I did a while back, and you'll quickly find out that you can't stereotype people who use drugs. Judge Evans presides over one of the county's two drug courts, founded 10 years ago to break addiction through treatment. The people who came before him that day were a mosaic of colors and ages. Some had their own attorneys, but most were represented by public defenders. There was the young white woman who violated her probation and admitted abusing drugs. She was sent to a treatment program in Avon Park. A young black man who had been recently arrested requested a pretrial hearing. A Spanish-speaking woman had her probation violation case heard through an interpreter. One young white man asked to have his treatment put off, insisting his job wouldn't allow him to attend a program. He admitted he was not a recreational user. "Your employment situation will not drive this train," Judge Evans said quite emphatically. He told the man he would have to either make arrangements with his current job or find another one. Becoming Responsible Citizens Judge Evans quickly explained his persistence: "We're not trying to hurt you. The goal is to make you a responsible citizen." Which brings me to the case of Darryl Strawberry, who was sentenced in another courtroom last week to 18 months in jail for probation violations. As a sports talk radio host put it, the former baseball player got "18 months 10 years too late." Strawberry, to his credit, looked at his sentence more as an opportunity to turn his life around than simply as punishment for his substance abuse. His case also illustrates why drug courts are a good thing and why law enforcement is an important component of our war on drugs - since nearly three-quarters of people in treatment centers got there through the criminal justice system. The same goes for Noelle Bush, daughter of Florida's governor, who was arrested back in January while trying to get a phony prescription filled. During the governor's fourth annual "drug summit" the day after Strawberry's sentencing, Jeb Bush fought back tears while talking about how drug abuse affected his family. Noelle is involved in a pretrial diversion program - where she wouldn't be if not for the bust. Prevention Still the Key The tragedy of Darryl Strawberry should also serve as a reminder that even the best treatment works only some of the time. That's why prevention remains the most effective way to fight our drug war. Last month I talked with a spokesman for the Partnership For a Drug- Free America who said that those who are "at risk" to experiment with drugs cannot be pigeonholed by race, geography or family income (see Bush, Noelle). Attitudes, he said, are the most important indicator. While agreeing that law enforcement is a necessary component in reducing drug use - contrary to the many drug-war pacifists who argue that substance abuse should be treated strictly as a medical problem - he would like to see drug prevention programs such as DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) use doctors instead of police officers to get their message across. It's worth a try. I wish Strawberry well. I hope others, particularly the younger generation, see him and make a conscious decision not to make the same mistakes. If that happened, he would become more of a role model than he ever was during his playing days. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex