First Drug Court Essay

The first drug court was rooted in 1989, in Miami-Dade county Florida and its purpose was to close the divide between drug treatment and the criminal justice system. Many large-scale pharmacies publicized merchandise that contained heroin, cocaine, and codeine as refreshing drinks, medicine for kids, and cough suppressants. It became clear that opiate addiction was increasing widely, doctors turned to cocaine, which was touted as a nonaddictive cure that Sigmund Freud called a “magical drug”. Substance abuse is a constant problem in the United States. Many people who see drug abuse as a disease do believe it is important to seek treatment and also look at drug abuse as a crime that includes consequences that the drug court is in place for. So the question is, are the drug courts essential to helping an addict recover and, do their methods and treatments really work?

Many of the drug courts typically have the same proposition. According to Hennessey “The two current models for responding to the drug problem in America both strive to reduce the need to incarcerate drug users who have been arrested for drug use, possession, and other

drug-related misdemeanor offenses” (5). Before any treatment is given, the offender has to take a series of assessments and surveys. After being assessed the offenders go through a recommended process of treatment that is closely supervised by court personnel. The drug courts serve one main purpose and that is to go in a way to treat the offenders and also to realize the decisions they have made. But what about the offenders who don’t go through the drug courts to receive treatment, are the treatments still effective as the ones who do? Drug offenders who don’t go through the drug courts because they don’t have to or they weren’t convicted of a crime often seek treatments in ways that are similar and different from the ones of the drug court.
There are many different ways to treating a substance abuser, most drug courts often have similar techniques. Abusers are analyzed checked for the need to receive treatment. Many of the abusers are not eligible due to the type of charges they have. According to G F Roper “defenders with a history of sex offenses, violent offenses, possession of illegal or dangerous weapons, or with an extensive non-drug related criminal history are generally not included (6). Most drug courts have satisfyingly handled offenders adjudged of bartering little amounts of drugs benefiting their drug obsession. As a substitute for confinement, offenders are referred to treatment monitored by court personnel.
According to G.

F. Roper there are seven principles on which drug courts are based: “1. retaining the participant in treatment through the pain of withdrawal, 2. helping the participant overcome fear, craving, and shame 3. Providing modulated and immediate sanctions, 4. Discriminating between behavior and addiction symptoms 5. Providing a system of rewards 6. Understanding that weather an act constitutes a punishment or a reward depends on the perception of the recipient 7. Dismissing charges as a reward” (7). The treatment for addicts is efficient, the discomfort of substance misuse in the initial step is very severe addicts often turn back to using drugs, unless they are forced to complete treatment. A team of skilled professionals work together making sure that the treatment program is sufficient to supply all the needs

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