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DRUG COURT IN N.J.  MERITS ONLY LIMITED PRAISE

To the Editor:

The May 9 Times editorial "N.J.  drug courts reclaiming lives" praises New Jersey's drug court program as an effective treatment paradigm for the disease of addiction, as well as a fiscally responsible alternative to incarceration for nonviolent offenders.

While drug courts are clearly preferable to incarceration, they are a misguided response to the fundamental problem of addiction.

First, treatment access in general is underfunded and unavailable to the majority of people who seek it.  The notion that those who are addicted to drugs do not want treatment is wholly false, as evidenced by the fact that waiting lists for publicly funded rehabilitation programs are miles long.  It is perverse that we are promoting a system in which someone must get arrested before we agree to help them.

In addition, drug courts commonly respond to users' relapses with sanctions such as jail time, which ironically penalizes someone for displaying a symptom of the disease that qualified him or her for drug court in the first place.  This perpetuates a system in which those with the most serious drug problems are more likely to "fail" the program.

Although drug courts absolutely help many people who struggle with addiction, studies have shown that they are no more effective than treatment in the community that relies on voluntary enrollment - and costs even less.

New Jersey would be better off taking steps to ensure that this treatment is available on demand, so that people have the opportunity to address their substance use before they are forced into the criminal justice system.

Elizabeth Thompson

Policy Coordinator New Jersey Drug Policy Alliance Trenton