Pubdate: Mon, 13 May 2002 Source: Anniston Star (AL) Copyright: 2002 Consolidated Publishing Contact: http://www.annistonstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/923 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) DRUG COURT District Attorney Joe Hubbard has been around the block a couple of times in his 25 years as a prosecutor. If there is anyone around here qualified to give us some pointers on how to improve the criminal justice system, it is Hubbard. So when he pitches an idea, like he did Thursday night, we all should take note. Hubbard, along with a number of other court officials including Circuit Judge Joel Laird and Calhoun County Sheriff Larry Amerson are pushing the county commission for $83,000 to start a drug court in the county. Hubbard has told the commission that the court would run itself after the initial cash infusion. The district attorney put it pretty straight to the commissioners when he said that locking up offenders for possession without providing for treatment "is just not working." What we need, Hubbard and the others said, is a court that will deal with non-violent drug offenders in a way that will rehabilitate them. Otherwise we will simply make the problem a lot bigger over time. With a prison population already bulging at the seams and the fact that 80 percent of federal, state and local inmates are in jail for drug offenses, his comments make a lot of sense. Hubbard and the others are not talking about going easy on crime. Anyone convicted of a violent crime will continue to be dealt with in the usual way. This is about non-violent, usually first-time offenders. The idea is to put qualified offenders through an 18-month judge-supervised program that will aim to treat them for drug addiction, rehabilitate them and turn them into productive members of society. If the offender successfully completes the program then he could have the violation expunged. This is forward thinking stuff, but it isn't new, even in Alabama. Other counties, including DeKalb, Jefferson and Mobile, have successfully implemented the programs. The statistics, along with common sense, argue strongly for a drug court in Calhoun County. One study found that 85 percent of drug-abusing offenders who go without treatment go back to using drugs within a year of their release and 95 percent go back after three years. The commission members see the wisdom in Hubbard, Laird and Amerson's argument and seem to want very much to fund the program. As Commissioner Eli Henderson put it, "if we don't do any other thing, we'll make that happen." Good for him and the commission. With their help, soon Calhoun County could have a drug court, a dwindling jail population and a slew of rehabilitated drug users. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager